Iran's foreign ministry spokesman on the Pakistan and Qatar mediation plan: national security and interests are the basis for decisions

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded on Monday 27 July 2026 to reports about Iranian and US answers to a Pakistani and Qatari proposal for negotiations. He neither confirmed nor denied the plan, saying Iran's guiding principle is national security and national interest, and that decisions on it follow a defined process.

Baghaei added: "We will not allow the United States to determine the timing of war and peace; we will defend ourselves for as long as necessary." He also said that after five months the war had not produced the result its planners expected.

The remarks came on the second consecutive day without strikes between Iran and the United States. That same pause pushed Brent crude down about 7.5 percent on 27 July 2026, to $91.03 a barrel.