Shafaq News– Tehran

Iran will not initiate war but remains open to negotiations if it receives “firm and credible guarantees” against military action, First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref stated on Thursday.

Speaking during a cabinet meeting, Aref said any dialogue must be genuine and cannot be used as cover for coercion or attack. He stressed that Iran’s security doctrine rules out initiating conflict, while warning that any aggression would “trigger full self-defense” and would not “conclude on terms set by an adversary.” Tehran, he added, supports rational engagement but rejects negotiations conducted under threat.

Referring to last June’s 12-day war with Israel, Aref noted authorities immediately shifted to wartime readiness, activating a war-economy framework that expanded decision-making powers for senior officials, ministers, and provincial governors to manage the crisis.

On relations with the United States, Aref recalled that Washington carried out strikes during an earlier negotiating track he described as progressing. He questioned what assurances exist to prevent a repeat, arguing that Iran would engage only if talks are protected from escalation.

His remarks came after US President Donald Trump indicated that Iran is seeking negotiations, as Washington positions a large naval force in the Middle East. Trump told Axios that the US has a “big armada next to Iran, bigger than Venezuela,” referring to the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group, which entered the US Central Command area on January 26, though he has not made a final decision on military action.

Read more: Washington holds back: Calculated pressure, not war, shapes US policy toward Iran