Iran says it will not let US determine timing of war and peace

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran Esmail Baghaei attends a press conference at Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tehran, Iran on May 4, 2026. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

Iran will not let the US decide when war or peace takes place, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday, Anadolu reports.

“We will not allow the United States to determine the time of peace and war,” Baqaei said at a weekly news conference, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

He also said the US was “stuck in a self-made quagmire after five months.”

On Sunday, Iranian military spokesperson Amir Mohammad Akraminia said the US had halted its attacks over the previous two nights and that Iran’s “counter-operations” had also stopped.

According to an Axios report on Saturday, US President Donald Trump had directed the US military not to launch new strikes on Iran, ending nearly two weeks of daily attacks.

Tensions between the US and Iran have intensified in recent weeks, with Washington carrying out attacks on Iran and Tehran responding by targeting what it said were US military facilities and equipment in countries across the region.

READ: Trump giving Iran peace talks ‘some space’ as strikes halt: US envoy

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