UN concerned about military-like rhetoric around Iran's situation: spokesperson

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is concerned about the increase of military-like rhetoric around the situation in Iran, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said Tuesday.

"Of course we're very concerned about the increase of military-like rhetoric that we're seeing around the Iranian situation," Dujarric said at a daily briefing in response to a question posed by Xinhua.

"It is imperative that all (UN) member states push for diplomacy as opposed to military rhetoric," he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has cancelled "all meetings" with Iranian officials, one day after he announced that any country doing business with Iran would pay a tariff rate of 25 percent on any business conducted with the United States.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon is presenting Trump with a "wider range of strike options" on Iran than previously reported, according to a report from The New York Times on Monday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday that his country is ready for war but remains open to dialogue, after Trump said the U.S. military is considering "very strong options" regarding Iran. ■