Iran rejects talks, says the fire US, Israel ignited ‘will engulf the entire world’

A big flag of Iran waving in the wind in Tehran, Iran.

Iran’s foreign ministry has warned of a wider escalation of the conflict it is embroiled in with Israel and the United States if countries choose to stay passive.

“They must stop the war,” Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson of the ministry, said of Israel and the US, noting that Iran favoured diplomacy from the start.

The US and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran on Saturday.

The strikes came hours after Iran and the US finished rounds of talks aimed at striking a deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.

Though both countries were short of making a pact, both sides described the negotiations as progressive. Israel has described the strike as “pre-emptive”.

Israel Katz, Israeli defence minister said Saturday’s strike was part of a move to “remove threats against the State of Israel”. Thecable