Iran to turn to diplomacy at appropriate time, diplomat says

TEHRAN, April 22. /TASS/. Tehran does not reject diplomatic methods of resolving the conflict with the US and will turn to diplomacy when the situation is ripe for that, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said. "Diplomacy is a tool to ensure national interests and security, and we will take action once we come to the conclusion that the necessary and logical conditions have been created for this tool for us to use to implement national interests and strengthen the success the Iranian people have achieved in preventing our enemies from realizing their malicious purposes," he pointed out. The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. On April 7, Washington announced a "double-sided" two-week ceasefire with Iran. According to Tehran, a total of 3,375 people were killed in US-Israeli strikes in the 40 days of the war. On April 11, the parties held several rounds of talks in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. According to both Tehran and Washington, they were unable to agree on a long-term solution to the conflict due to multiple disagreements. On April 21, the US president announced plans to extend the ceasefire with Iran. According to Iran’s state broadcaster, Tehran does not intend to recognize Washington's unilateral ceasefire extension but will act in accordance with national interests.