Iran FM Araghchi says Tehran ready for defense or diplomacy, urges US rationality

The signal here is the framing, not the rhetoric: Tehran is publicly keeping defense and diplomacy on equal footing while routing its actual engagement through Qatari mediators rather than direct channels with Washington. That structure matters for regional risk pricing, since it means de-escalation depends on intermediary states whose interests may not align with either principal. Whether the deputy foreign minister's Doha track produces anything more than continuity — and whether Washington responds through the same back channel — is the open question worth watching.