Iran president calls for continued nuclear negotiations, questions Trump threats
Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian called for nuclear program negotiations between Tehran and Washington to continue and said that President Trump is sending 'contradictory' messages.
'No one but Trump himself believes his words against the Iranian nation; on the one hand, he speaks of peace and stability, and on the other hand, he threatens with the most sophisticated tools for homicide, and with contradictory statements, he simultaneously sends messages of peace, bloodshed, and insecurity,' Pezeshkian said during his Saturday morning speech to Navy officials.
'We are not seeking war, we favor negotiation and dialogue, but we are not afraid of threats either, and we will in no way retreat from our legal rights,' Pezeshkian added.
The United States and Iran's officials completed four rounds of discussion regarding Tehran's rapidly expanding nuclear program. Trump said on Friday that the U.S. gave Iran a formal proposal for a new nuclear agreement and added that 'more importantly, they know they have to move quickly.'
Iran has denied that it has received a formal proposal from the U.S.
'In the meantime, the messaging we—and the world—continue to receive is confusing and contradictory,' Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on social media. 'Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal.'
Trump has pushed to forge a new nuclear deal with Iran since taking office, warning Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon and that it has to do away with enriching uranium. Trump pulled out of the Obama-negotiated 2015 agreement in 2018 and imposed sanctions on Tehran.
The commander-in-chief has warned previously that military action could ensue if diplomacy with Iran goes sideways.
'It is not the case that they imagine if they threaten us, we will retreat from our human and irrefutable rights,' Pezeshkian said on Saturday. 'We will not back down and not abandon our proud military and academic, scientific, and nuclear achievements.'
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