Iran’s top negotiator says Tehran will not compromise in talks with US

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 is not an honest party in negotiations to end the war and will not compromise Iran’s national rights, state television reported.

The Pakistan-led regional mediation drive aims to narrow differences between Iran and the United States after weeks of war that has left the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway closed to most shipping, roiling 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 a 14-article document proposed by Iran and accepted as the main framework of the messages shared between the two sides.

Qalibaf said Iran would seek 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.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that the United States had made some progress toward a deal but more work was needed, while Iran’s foreign ministry said differences remained deep and significant.

Despite weeks of fighting, 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)