Iran judiciary chief says Tehran open to US talks but against policy 'imposition'

[Editor's Note: Follow the Khaleej Times live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire now in effect.]

Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on Friday said Tehran remained open to talks with the United States but would not accept what he called policy "imposition" under threats.

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"The Islamic Republic has never shied away from negotiations... but we certainly do not accept imposition," Ejei said in a video carried by the judiciary's Mizan Online website. 

"We do not welcome war in any way; we do not want war, and we do not want its continuation," he said. 

He, however, insisted that Iran was "absolutely not willing to abandon our principles and values in the face of this malicious enemy in order to avoid war or prevent its continuation".

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Iran and the United States held a single round of talks against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire following nearly 40 days of war that broke out on February 28. 

Talks have since stalled as the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran has kept the strategic Strait of Hormuz largely shut, allowing only a trickle of ships through the waterway since the start of the war.

On Thursday, US news website Axios reported that President Donald Trump was expected to receive a briefing on potential military action against Iran from Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned that it was "possible that we may soon have to act again" against Iran to achieve the war's objectives.

Ejei insisted that the United States achieved "nothing" during the war, adding that Tehran would not "back down" in negotiations. 

In a written message on Thursday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said the United States suffered a "disgraceful defeat" during the war.

He added that Iranians would guard their "nuclear and missile" capabilities as part of their "national capital".