The government of Iran has called for firm security guarantees as a condition for any ceasefire with the United States and Israel, according to remarks reported on Tuesday.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, said a ceasefire would be meaningless without assurances that military attacks against Iran would not resume.
His comments were reported by the Iranian newspaper Shargh.
“If a ceasefire is to be established or the war is to end, there must be a guarantee that aggressive actions against Iran will not be repeated,” Gharibabadi said.
He added that Iran was not responsible for initiating the conflict.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran was not the initiator of the war and aggression,” he said.
Gharibabadi also defended Iran’s recent missile strikes, saying they were conducted in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which allows for self-defence in the event of an armed attack.
According to the report, several countries have recently attempted to mediate between the parties involved in the conflict.
Those efforts reportedly included China, Russia, France, as well as several unnamed regional states.
Also Read: Trump floats ending war in Iran after call with Putin
Meanwhile, the raging war has shaken health care delivery as hospitals in Iran stopped operating following airstrikes carried out by United States and Israel, according to reports on Tuesday.
The Iranian news agency, Iranian Labour News Agency cited lawmaker Mohammad Jamalian, a member of the health commission in Iran’s parliament, as saying.
He said the attacks had significantly damaged parts of the country’s healthcare system.
Jamalian said that since the start of the current war, 18 emergency departments and 25 health centres have also been damaged, while 14 ambulances have been destroyed.
He added that Iran’s strategic reserves of medicines that were expected to last for at least six months if the conflict continued, though shortages of some drugs have already been reported.
Hospitals across the country have suspended non-essential procedures, including cosmetic surgeries, until further notice.
Medical facilities are now prioritising the treatment of war-related injuries and other urgent cases.
According to Jamalian, around 1,400 injured people are currently being treated as inpatients nationwide.
dpa/NAN
