Iran president offers olive branch even as US restarts attacks

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has offered an olive branch to US President Donald Trump even after several soldiers and civilians were killed in an US strike on Larak Island. Speaking on Monday before travelling to Bishkek for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Pezeshkian said Iran was "not looking for war” but would “never sit still in the face of any aggression”. Iran “will give a decisive response to the aggressors” if attacked again, he said, according to the Fars news agency, but also said his country would immediately reciprocate if the US fulfilled its commitments under an interim deal signed in June, state media reported. "I state explicitly that if the United States returns to its commitments under the aforementioned memorandum of understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take reciprocal action," Pezeshkian said, according to the Iran presidency's website. US forces bombed Larak Island on Sunday, the official state broadcaster IRIB reported. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters It marked Washington’s first attack on Iran since July and raised fears of another escalation in the Israeli -US war against the country . Following the strike, Iran urged the UN Security Council in a letter to demand that Washington end its attacks. The letter, addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by Gholamhossein Darzi, Tehran’s deputy permanent representative and ambassador to the UN, on Monday described the attacks as a "a clear violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Iran. Darzi also accused the US and others involved in the attacks of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the war on Iran. He also stressed that while Iran had show restraint, its forces "would not hesitate" to respond to any further strikes. Economic strains The impact of the war on the global economy has been highly damaging, particularly after Iran closed off the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway. The number of vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz saw little change on Monday, with preliminary ship-tracking data from Kpler showing the transit of five commodity vessels. Trump's vow to escalate on Iran rings hollow amid warnings from top US generals Read More » Four of those vessels entered the waterway and one exited. One of the vessels that entered was an empty handy-sized gas tanker which travelled via the Iranian route. The other three were laden dry bulk carriers. On Tuesday, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said that Iran had sufficient foreign currency reserves despite the recent ramping up of US sanctions. "I am telling the president of the United States: Iran has (foreign) currency and it has enough," he said. Hemmati indicated that the central bank was ready to inject up to $2bn into the foreign exchange market to calm recent volatility. He added that the central bank was continuing to collect foreign currency receivables and had domestic reserves as well as other resources. "I tell the people with complete honesty that economic conditions and livelihood management have become difficult, but collapse has never happened and will never happen," he stressed. "These claims are just psychological warfare and the dust will settle soon."