Iran’s chief negotiator warned on Sunday that the United States cannot be trusted, asserting that Tehran will reject any peace agreement with Washington unless Iranian rights are completely secured.
The statement by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf comes amid reports that US President Donald Trump has proposed a more stringent peace framework, highlighting the deep divisions that continue to stall negotiations.
Any new adjustments to the draft could further delay an official end to the Middle East war and the reopening of the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane.
Tensions have been high since February, when the US and Israel launched air and missile strikes that eliminated most of Iran’s senior leadership during ongoing nuclear talks. While Iran maintains its nuclear program is civilian, Western allies suspect it is intended for weapons development.
Disagreements Over Proposals and Guarantees
Reports from The New York Times and Axios indicate that Trump returned a “tougher” framework to Iran, though specific terms have not been disclosed.
Trump has emphasized that halting Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain his primary goals.
”The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They’ve agreed to that, and it was very interesting,” Trump said in an interview with Lara Trump on Fox News.
However, Tehran has questioned these assertions, and the two sides remain fundamentally divided.
”We will not approve any agreement until we are certain that the rights of the Iranian people have been upheld,” Ghalibaf declared in a state television broadcast.
Stalled Negotiations and Key Demands
According to the Tasnim news agency, communication between the two nations remains active but fluid.
”Exchanges between Iran and the United States regarding the text of a possible memorandum of understanding are ongoing, with both parties regularly proposing amendments. No agreement has yet been finalized, and it is possible that any agreement will be rejected,” the agency reported.
Iran is demanding the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before entering deeper nuclear talks, while dismissing Trump’s claims that its enriched uranium stockpile would be destroyed as “baseless.”
Furthermore, Tehran insists that Lebanon must be included in any final settlement, even as Beirut accuses Israel of executing a “scorched-earth policy” in its expanding operations against Hezbollah.