Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Monday that Tehran is prepared to resume negotiations with Washington, including discussions over its nuclear program, but insisted that the United States first lift sanctions, end unilateral action and stop trying to negotiate through military pressure.
“We are ready for dialogue," Pezeshkian told India Today, while stressing that any negotiations over Iran's nuclear program should be conducted under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and international law.
Pezeshkian also questioned Washington's desire to restart negotiations rather than build on an understanding he said had already been formulated in Pakistan.
“I don’t know what was wrong with what we wrote in Pakistan that the United States now wants us to talk again from scratch," he said. “What was illogical there? What did we say that was outside the logical, legal and scientific frameworks recognized in the world?"
He credited Pakistan with significant efforts to promote regional peace and security and said Qatar had likewise worked to advance the understanding reached in Pakistan.
“Our position is the same as what we said before: the United States should lift its sanctions, abandon unilateralism, not speak to us through force, and open the way so that we can live like the rest of the world," he said.
The Iranian president also expressed uncertainty over which statements by President Donald Trump should be regarded as the official US position.
“We don’t know which of the things Trump says we are ultimately supposed to accept and stand by," Pezeshkian said.
He rejected the claim that Tehran was responsible for starting the current conflict.
“We did not attack anyone. They attacked us, and we defended ourselves," he said.
Trump, meanwhile, said earlier Monday that Iran is seeking an agreement with Washington and indicated that the United States remains willing to consider talks, although he would make the final decision on whether to engage.
“The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly," Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage - the concept of which we are open to."
The two countries have held several rounds of negotiations during the ongoing war but have yet to reach an agreement. The failure to make progress has been accompanied by renewed attacks by both sides against targets and interests across the region.
Last week, US forces struck several Iranian oil tankers connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran responded by launching a barrage of missiles toward US bases in Jordan.
The following day, Trump predicted that the conflict would end immediately after the US midterm elections in November, saying Iran “can't hold out any longer."
Trump also accused Tehran of deliberately extending the conflict in an effort to affect the elections. “They're desperate to try and affect the election so that we could get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon."