ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday that recent talks between Iran and the United States marked progress, even as Tehran’s top diplomat voiced doubts about Washington’s seriousness amid continued sanctions and military pressure.
“The Iran-US talks, held through the efforts of friendly governments in the region, were a step forward,” Pezeshkian wrote on X. “Dialogue has always been our strategy for peaceful resolution. Our logic on the nuclear issue is the explicit rights in the Non-Proliferation Treaty.” He added that Iran “has always responded to respect with respect, but will not tolerate the language of force.”
Pezeshkian’s remarks come as indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington continue with mediation by regional countries, focusing on Iran’s nuclear program and wider tensions that have escalated in recent months.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a more cautious tone during a forum in Tehran on Sunday. He said Iran has reason to doubt whether the United States is genuinely seeking to resolve the crisis through negotiations.
“Washington’s continuation of sanctions on Iran and its recent military deployments raise doubts about the other party’s seriousness and readiness to engage in genuine negotiations,” AFP cited Araghchi as saying. “We are closely monitoring the situation, assessing all the signals, and will decide whether to continue the negotiations.”
In the same forum, Araghchi emphasized what he described as Iran’s strategic strength, rejecting accusations that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons. According to The Associated Press, he said: “They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not pursuing an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers.”
Indirect talks between Iran and the United States have been taking place against the backdrop of stalled efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The agreement unraveled after the US withdrew in 2018 and reimposed sweeping sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to scale back its nuclear commitments.
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