{"id":76293,"date":"2026-04-21T12:32:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/76293\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T12:32:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T12:32:15","slug":"ready-for-any-option-iranian-envoy-says-tehran-poised-for-peace-puts-ball-in-us-court-world-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/76293\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Ready For Any Option\u2019: Iranian Envoy Says Tehran Poised For Peace, Puts Ball In US&#8217; Court | World News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated:April 21, 2026, 17:30 IST<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to CNN-News18, Iran\u2019s envoy said Tehran prefers peace but is ready for all options, as uncertainty persists over talks with the US.<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/font.svg\" height=\"30px\" width=\"30px\" alt=\"font\" title=\"font\" class=\"jsx-6cc80bfb3da3f7c2 lazyload\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/web.whatsapp.com\/send?text=%E2%80%98Ready%20For%20Any%20Option%E2%80%99%3A%20Iranian%20Envoy%20Says%20Tehran%20Poised%20For%20Peace%2C%20Puts%20Ball%20In%20US&#039;%20Court - %0D%0Ahttps:\/\/www.news18.com\/world\/ready-for-any-option-iranian-envoy-says-tehran-poised-for-peace-puts-ball-in-us-court-ws-l-10048210.html%3Futm_source%3Dwhatsapp%26utm_medium%3Dsocial_share%26utm_campaign%3Dnw18english%0D%0A %0D%0A Get the latest news anytime, anywhere. Install News18 app for free! %0D%0Ahttps:\/\/onelink.to\/website-share-eng\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" class=\"jsx-6cc80bfb3da3f7c2 sclrnd wapp social_share\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/new_share_icon.svg\" alt=\"new share icon\" title=\"new share icon\" width=\"8\" height=\"9\" class=\"jsx-6cc80bfb3da3f7c2 social_share\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/new_whatsapp_icon.svg\" alt=\"new whatsapp icon\" title=\"new whatsapp icon\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" class=\"jsx-6cc80bfb3da3f7c2 social_share\"\/><\/a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\" &#10;&#10;Iran's ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, said Tehran is ready for peace but warned it will defend itself, placing the onus on the US ahead of potential talks. (IMAGE: REUTERS) \" title=\" &#10;&#10;Iran's ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, said Tehran is ready for peace but warned it will defend itself, placing the onus on the US ahead of potential talks. (IMAGE: REUTERS) \" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776774735_83_1627283897_news18_logo-1200x800.jpg\" loading=\"eager\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"jsx-2524e8ec645f14a5 jsx-179760161\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.news18.com\/dlxczavtqcctuei\/news18\/static\/images\/english\/zoom-img.svg\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" class=\"jsx-2524e8ec645f14a5 jsx-179760161 imgzoomicn tap_to_zoom\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Iran&#8217;s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, said Tehran is ready for peace but warned it will defend itself, placing the onus on the US ahead of potential talks. (IMAGE: REUTERS) <\/p>\n<p><img class=\"jsx-2524e8ec645f14a5 jsx-179760161 flscrnimg\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"0\" class=\"story_para_0\">Iran on Tuesday said it is ready for peace but made it clear that \u201cit\u2019s up to the United States&#8221; to decide the next course, even as it warned it remains prepared for conflict if needed. <\/p>\n<p id=\"1\" class=\"story_para_1\">Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/world\/us-iran-peace-talks-pakistan-momentum-donald-trump-may-visit-pakistan-nuclear-deal-ceasefire-deadline-ws-l-10047335.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ahead of talks in Islamabad<\/a>, Iranian envoy to India Mohammad Fathali said Tehran is open to all outcomes, though it prefers diplomacy. <\/p>\n<p id=\"2\" class=\"story_para_2\">\u201cWhat will bring peace? It\u2019s up to the other side. We are ready for peace. We are ready for any option, but we prefer peace,&#8221; Fathali said. <\/p>\n<p id=\"3\" class=\"story_para_3\">At the same time, he underlined that Iran would respond if attacked. \u201cWe are ready for war. They (US) think they can finish in two or three days, but our people, our country, will defend. After 42 days, they want to sit at the negotiating table,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p id=\"4\" class=\"story_para_4\">His remarks come as US Vice President JD Vance is expected to lead a delegation for talks with Iran, alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner. The Iranian side is likely to be represented by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, though there remains no official confirmation on Tehran\u2019s participation. Reports suggest Ghalibaf may attend if Vance is present. <\/p>\n<p id=\"5\" class=\"story_para_5\">The war, which began on February 28, has entered its seventh week, with a fragile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/world\/trump-says-iran-breached-ceasefire-multiple-times-as-islamabad-peace-talks-window-closes-10048174.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ceasefire currently in place and set to expire on Wednesday<\/a>. US President Donald Trump has warned that Iranian infrastructure could be targeted if a deal is not reached. <\/p>\n<p id=\"6\" class=\"story_para_6\">Fathali accused Washington of already carrying out attacks on Iranian infrastructure and civilians. \u201cI have statistics to show you how many have been killed. They attacked our infrastructure \u2014 our roads, our railways and health centres,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p id=\"7\" class=\"story_para_7\">The envoy also thanked India and its people for their support during the conflict. \u201cIndians have shown their sympathy and solidarity. They know we are fighting for our dignity,&#8221; he said. <\/p>\n<p id=\"8\" class=\"story_para_8\">India has sent humanitarian aid to Iran since the February 28 conflict, primarily in the form of medical supplies, with the first shipment delivered in mid-March and additional consignments following.<\/p>\n<p>Handpicked stories, in your inbox<\/p>\n<p>A newsletter with the best of our journalism<\/p>\n<p>submit<\/p>\n<p>First Published:<\/p>\n<p>April 21, 2026, 17:21 IST<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">News<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/world\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">world<\/a>   \u2018Ready For Any Option\u2019: Iranian Envoy Says Tehran Poised For Peace, Puts Ball In US&#8217; CourtDisclaimer: Comments reflect users\u2019 views, not News18\u2019s. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/disclaimer\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news18.com\/privacy_policy\/\" class=\"jsx-ba4d8f086a12294f\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Read More<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Updated:April 21, 2026, 17:30 IST Speaking to CNN-News18, Iran\u2019s envoy said Tehran prefers peace but is ready&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[27851,34,27849,27848,1109,16344,27850,23432,69,27852],"class_list":{"0":"post-76293","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tehran","8":"tag-india-humanitarian-aid-iran","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-iran-prepared-for-war","11":"tag-iran-ready-for-peace","12":"tag-iran-us-conflict","13":"tag-iran-us-peace-talks","14":"tag-iranian-infrastructure-attacks","15":"tag-jd-vance-iran-talks","16":"tag-tehran","17":"tag-tehran-diplomacy-efforts"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116442716715021324","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}