Iran is ready for 'apocalyptic war', says Araghchi
Iran says it is ready for renewed war but is keeping the door open to diplomacy, as US President Donald Trump says he expects more talks with Tehran this week.
Washington has rejected an Iranian seven-day roadmap tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran remains open to diplomacy while warning that it will stand firm against any aggression.
In a post on X, Araghchi said he and President Masoud Pezeshkian had travelled to New York to pursue peace rather than promote war.
He added that Iran was prepared for 'real diplomacy' but would remain steadfast even in the event of what he described as an 'apocalyptic war'.
Told @MeetThePress:
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) September 27, 2026
President Pezeshkian and I did not come to New York to sell a war. We came to forge peace.
Iran nonetheless remains steadfast in the face of any aggression—even if it comes to an apocalyptic war. At the same time, we are ready for real diplomacy.
Meanwhile, oil prices spiked with bond yields Monday as Donald Trump's rejection of an Iranian offer of a seven-day truce stoked inflation concerns, while stocks were mixed as traders look ahead to the release of key US data.
Tehran last week set out a plan at the UN General Assembly for a halt in hostilities that would see the Strait of Hormuz reopened, which would ease a crippling supply crisis that has jacked up costs around the world.
The waterway is key to the world's energy supply and is now central to the conflict between the US and Iran, particularly with Houthis seizing Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, including the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital shipping lane.
However, the US president told reporters outside the White House "I reject their proposal".
Still, he told Axios that he expects negotiations to resume. "They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make," he told the news platform. "It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago."
"They overplayed their hand," Trump added, in the interview published Sunday.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Axios reported that indirect talks between Washington and Tehran could take place as early as Monday.