TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Iran's Foreign Minister (FM) Abbas Araghchi in an interview with Face the Nation program on the CBS network on Sunday, denied that Iran asked for a ceasefire agreement or negotiations with the United States.
He emphasized that Iran sees no reason to hold talks with America after President Trump claimed Iran was seeking a deal to end the war between the US and Iran.
"We never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation," Araghchi said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."
As the war entered its third week, Trump claimed in the past few days that Iran wanted to reach a deal. The President claimed in a post on Truth Social on Friday night that Iran is "is totally defeated and wants a deal - But not a deal that I would accept!"
On Saturday, he told NBC News that "Iran wants to make a deal, and I don't want to make it because the terms aren't good enough yet."
He even said he might consider bombing Iran's oil center target, Kharg Island, "just for fun."
However, Araghchi said, "we are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes," adding, "this is what we have done so far, and we continue to do that until President Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory."
"There are, you know, people being killed only because President Trump wants to have fun," Araghchi said. "This is a war of choice by President Trump and the United States, and we are going to continue our self defense."
Iran's Foreign Minister denied the assumption that the conflict is a fight for survival for the Iranian government, saying "we are, you know, stable and strong enough."
He said the Iranian government sees "any reason" why they should negotiate with the US, referring to the talks that took place before the US and Israel launched pre-emptive strikes against Iran at the end of last month.
"We were talking with them when they decided to attack us, and that was for the second time," he said. "There is no good experience talking with the Americans. We were talking, so why they decided to attack us? So what is good if we go back to talk once again?"
Warning to Gulf Countries
Iran also warned countries not to get involved in its war with the United States and Israel, after President US Donald Trump urged world powers to escort oil tankers through the narrow Hormuz Strait in the Persian Gulf.
Iran also sent a strong message to its Arab neighbors, saying the Islamic Republic has what its Foreign Minister called "ample evidence" that US bases in their region are being used to launch attacks.
"This war will end when we are certain that it will not be repeated and that reparations will be paid," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the Arabic news outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed as reported by SBS News.
Citing that the US security umbrella in the region is "inviting rather than deterring trouble," Araghchi urged neighboring countries "to expel foreign aggressors" in a post on X.
"We experienced this last year: Israel attacked, then the United States," he said, referring to Israel's 12-day air war last June, which briefly involved US forces for nighttime attacks on Iran's nuclear sites.
Trump Seeks Help in Strait of Hormuz
Energy prices have surged worldwide since Iran responded to the new US-Israeli campaign by threatening shipments through the Hormuz Strait, which normally carries 20 percent of global oil and gas exports to the global market.
Trump responded by urging "China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and others" to send ships to escort tankers, while the US military continues to bombard drone launch sites, ships, and missiles in Iran on the northern coast.
However, the countries he mentioned only gave cautious responses, and Araghchi, in a phone call with his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, warned them to "refrain from any action that could lead to escalation and expansion of the conflict."
Allies' Responses
The UK Ministry of Defence did not commit, saying "we are currently discussing with our allies and partners a range of options to ensure the security of shipping in the region."
UK Energy Security Minister Ed Miliband told BBC that the "plan now has to be to de-escalate the conflict ... We are talking to our allies. There are different ways in which we can make maritime shipping possible."
South Korea said it was monitoring Trump's statements on social media, while the head of policy for Japan's ruling party, Takayuki Kobayashi, said the standard for sending Japanese naval vessels to the region based on existing constitutions is "extremely high."
Trump also said on Monday that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) faces a "very bad" future if US allies fail to help open the Hormuz Strait.
In a brief interview with Financial Times, Trump said that because the US had helped Ukraine in its war with Russia, he expected Europe to help in the Hormuz Strait.
"If there's no response or if it's a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO," said Trump, who has criticized the alliance for years, accusing its members of not investing enough in defense.
Trump also said the upcoming summit in Beijing with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, could be postponed because he was pressing China for help in reopening the strait.
Trump said the US "like to know" where China stands before the summit. He noted that China and many European countries depend more on oil flowing from the Gulf than the US.
"It's only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there," Trump said.
Separately, Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One that the US is in discussions with "about seven" countries to get help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Global oil prices have surged 40 percent as Iran has cut off the vital sea route and attacked energy and shipping targets in its Gulf neighbors.
The attacks were in retaliation for US and Israeli aerial campaigns that killed Iran's top leader, triggering a war across the Middle East since February 28, 2026.
Read: Living Amid Bombings in Iran: How Fear Impacts Mental Health
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