Iran’s Top Negotiator Says Tehran Will Not Compromise In Talks With U.S.
DUBAI, May 23 (Reuters) – Iran’s chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf, told Pakistani Chief of General Staff Asim Munir during talks in Tehran on Saturday that the United States was not an honest party in negotiations to end relations with Iran. war State television reported that Iran would not compromise on its national rights.
The Pakistan-led regional mediation drive aims to narrow differences between Iran and the United States after weeks of war that has closed the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway to most shipping and roiled global energy markets despite a tense ceasefire.
Iranian state media reported that Munir also met with President Massoud Pezeshkian in the presence of Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi before his flight and had two meetings with him.
It was reported that the talks focused on the 14-article document proposed by Iran and forming the main framework of the negotiations and the messages shared between the two parties.
Qalibaf said Iran would pursue its “legitimate rights” both on the battlefield and through diplomacy, but added that Iran could not trust “a party that has no integrity,” a claim it has made many times before.
He said Iran’s armed forces had rebuilt their capabilities during the ceasefire and that if the US “stupidly restarted the war” the consequences would be “stronger and more painful” than at the beginning of the conflict.
The United States is seeing some things, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday. to go forward While the Iranian foreign ministry stated that the differences were deep and important, more work was needed to reach an agreement.
Despite weeks of conflict, Iran has maintained a stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium as well as missile, drone and proxy capabilities that the United States and Israel say they aim to reduce.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir, Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Kevin Liffey)
