On July 22, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated that the United States is still willing to resolve the Iranian crisis through negotiations, but Iran “does not take negotiations seriously.” The day before, the U.S. military carried out air strikes against Iran for the 11th consecutive night.
According to British Reuters, Rubio made the above remarks during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Manila, Philippines on that day. Rubio said, "The problem we face now is that they are not taking negotiations seriously. If they do take them seriously, then we must also take them seriously. But if they don't do so, then we will take necessary measures to protect our interests, as well as those of our allies."
He pointed out that the United States will never allow Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz, and said that if a country is allowed to control international waterways, charge fees from passing ships, or even threaten to “explode ships if they don’t pay”, it will set a “dangerous precedent” for the world.
On the 20th, a senior Iranian official revealed that Iran has received a ten-day ceasefire proposal proposed by the mediators, hoping to save the temporary ceasefire agreement signed between the United States and Iran in June this year.
Meanwhile, Iran's Interior Minister Iskander Momen recently visited Pakistan, requesting Pakistan to continue playing a mediating role.
However, while there has been no breakthrough in diplomacy, military operations in the United States continue. On the 21st, the US military carried out air strikes on targets within Iran for the 11th consecutive night.
According to the Iran's Fars News Agency, an explosion was reported over Tehran in the early hours of the 22nd. The Iranian capital activated its air defense system in response to the attack. Additionally, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran News Agency, the US military also attacked three locations in Bushehr Province on the 22nd, including a power facility near Iran's only nuclear power plant.
