Tehran, Iran - Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday said the conflict with the US would not end with Tehran's surrender, after hostilities between the decades-old foes resumed this week with tit-for-tat attacks.
"Ending the war is a priority for the countries of the world, but everyone must know that this confrontation will never end with Iran's surrender," said Ghalibaf, who also serves as Iran's parliament speaker, ISNA news agency reported.
"Whenever the Americans betray the understanding (agreement), we are fully prepared to defend ourselves; we will stand firmly against them and secure the rights of the Iranian people," he added, speaking in a meeting with the speaker of Indonesia's People's Consultative Assembly.
The US and Iran have exchanged fire on several occasions this week, with the US accusing Tehran of targeting commercial ships and carrying out strikes in response and Iran attacking US assets in Middle Eastern countries with drones and missiles.
It is just over three weeks since Washington and Tehran signed an agreement aimed at turning a months-long ceasefire into a durable peace, but the trading of fire for a second day in a row on Thursday threatened a return to full-scale regional war.
President Donald Trump said on Friday he had agreed to further negotiations with Iran, even as he repeated his assertion that the ceasefire between them was over.
A delegation from mediator Qatar arrived in Iran on Friday for talks, local media reported, following the latest escalation between the two countries.