Iranian Foreign Ministry: Iran Did Not Request a Ceasefire from the United States

¬ Russian political scientist assesses the possibility of NATO's collapse

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahgat rejected U.S. President Trump's claim that Tehran had requested a ceasefire.

Earlier, U.S. President Trump stated that Iran's leadership had approached him with a request for a ceasefire.

Mehr News Agency quoted Bahgat as saying: "President Trump claimed Iran requested a ceasefire — he is lying and doing so without any basis."

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched multiple strikes against targets inside Iran, including attacks on Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. In response, Iran carried out retaliatory missile strikes on Israeli territory and U.S. military targets in the Middle East.

Russian political scientist Alexander Asafyev believes the collapse of NATO is entirely possible, but currently the United States is deliberately creating panic about a swift exit from NATO in order to profit from it.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump would decide on NATO’s future after the Iran conflict ends.

Asafyev told the Lenta website: "The idea of NATO’s collapse is entirely plausible. If the U.S. fails to achieve its objectives, this scenario becomes actually feasible. But at present, it is essentially a strategy to exert direct or indirect pressure on allies, forcing them to reduce their high costs and create more room for U.S. gains."

He believes the U.S. is deliberately instilling fear of a rapid exit from NATO, so it can later cash in on it in some form. Trump previously stated that without U.S. involvement, NATO would be nothing but a "paper tiger," and harshly criticized NATO allies for refusing to support U.S. actions against Iran and for lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Germany and France have already refused to back this initiative, and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also said that EU countries are not prepared to deploy fleets to the region.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861286013081667/

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