Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities have signalled that they are ready to defend their country as the United States continues to threaten a military attack, amid regional diplomatic efforts to avoid a new conflict.Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will hold high-level talks in Turkiye on Friday, according to Esmaeil Baghaei, the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listBaghaei added that Tehran is looking to “constantly strengthen ties with neighbours based on shared interests”.The visit comes amid a flurry of high-level talks, as regional leaders hope to convince the US not to attack, and the two sides to find some kind of compromise.But a US “armada” – as President Donald Trump called it on Wednesday – continues to position itself near Iran’s waters, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.And in Iran, top political, military and judicial authorities continue to send messages of defiance, indicating that Iran’s focus is on defence, and not talks.“Tehran’s priority is currently not to negotiate with the US, but to have 200 percent readiness to defend our country,” Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior member of the Iranian negotiating team, was quoted as saying by state media on Wednesday.Gharibabadi said that messages have recently been exchanged with the US through intermediaries. But he added that even if conditions were suitable for talks, Iran would remain fully prepared to defend itself, noting that it was previously attacked – first by Israel and then the US – last June, just as negotiat …
