Ammon News - Iran’s parliament speaker and chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Tuesday that the ball was in Washington’s court to “prevent war.”

“The countries of the region should know that, just as the Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready for battle with its finger on the trigger, it has also given the American side a powerful and rational response,” he said in a televised speech. “The ball is now in America’s court to prevent war.”

"The enemy seeks to force the Iranian nation into submission through threats and military action, but they are sorely mistaken, Iran will not submit," Qalibaf also said on Tuesday, adding that Tehran's response ​to any miscalculation by the US would be unpredictable and disregard geographical constraints.

Iran and the United States are far from reaching a deal to end the war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday, despite heightened diplomatic efforts, opens new tab to prevent a potential return to active conflict after ​the US midterm elections.

The US carried out "defensive" strikes on Iran's Qeshm island overnight, with a US official saying ‌the strikes targeted surface-to-air missiles used against US assets. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Guards said they downed a US MQ-9 drone overnight in the skies over the east of the Strait of Hormuz.

"Mediators are working hard to narrow gaps between Tehran and Washington," the senior Iranian official said, after Qatari mediators ​travelled to Tehran on Monday night for talks on a version of the draft US-Iran deal that has been ​under negotiation for the past eight days.
“Tehran's conditions must be met if the US wants Hormuz reopened,” ⁠the Iranian official cautioned, adding that nuclear talks could only start afterwards and that Tehran would not accept Washington's "excessive demands".


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