Pezeshkian says Iran favors negotiation, not afraid of threats
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday reiterated that the Islamic Republic favors negotiation and dialogue and is not afraid of threats.
“We are not seeking war, we favor negotiation and dialogue, but we are not afraid of threats either, and we will in no way retreat from our legal rights,” Pezeshkian told a gathering of navy officers.
Praising Iran’s valuable gains in various fields, the president said, “It is not the case that they imagine if they threaten us, we will retreat from our human and irrefutable rights. We will not back down and not abandon our proud military and academic, scientific, and nuclear achievements.”
Since April 12, Iran and the US have held four rounds of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, with US President Donald Trump threatening Iran with military attack if no agreement is reached.
Negotiations have gotten into the expert level – meaning the two sides are trying to see if they can reach any agreement on the details of any possible deal. But one major sticking point remains Iran’s enrichment of uranium, which Tehran insists it must be allowed to do and the Trump administration insists the Islamic Republic must give up.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday reasserted the Islamic Republic’s non-negotiable position on uranium enrichment, emphasizing its commitment to exercise legal rights under the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) while maintaining a logical stance.
“Iran, a longstanding Non-Proliferation Treaty member and initiator of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in West Asia, has demonstrated unwavering commitment and good faith through engaging in indirect negotiations with the United States,” Araghchi said.
No compromise
on legal rights
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared to build confidence regarding the continued peaceful nature of its nuclear program, but it cannot compromise on the inalienable and legal right of the Iranian nation to benefit from peaceful nuclear energy, including enrichment, which is granted to every member state under the NPT,” Araghchi added.
The Iranian diplomat also denounced the US officials’ conflicting statements about the nuclear talks.
US top negotiator in the nuclear talks Steve Witkoff at one point suggested that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later began saying that all Iranian enrichment must stop. The US president and secretary of state have also said that Iran should abandon its uranium enrichment program.
Trump’s threats
The Iranian president said on Saturday that Iran is not intimidated by the US president’s threats and will not forgo its legitimate nuclear rights under pressure.
“No one but Trump himself believes his words against the Iranian nation; on the one hand, he speaks of peace and stability, and on the other hand, he threatens with the most sophisticated tools for homicide, and with contradictory statements, he simultaneously sends messages of peace, bloodshed, and insecurity,” Pezeshkian said.
In his latest remarks about the ongoing negotiations between Tehran and Washington, Trump said on Friday that Iran had a US proposal about its nuclear program and knows it needs to move quickly to resolve a decades-long dispute.
“More importantly, they know they have to move quickly or something bad — something bad’s going to happen,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after departing the United Arab Emirates on Friday, according to an audio recording of the remarks.
However, Araghchi in a post on X said Tehran had not received a US proposal. “There is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to (uranium) enrichment for peaceful purposes…” he said.
Araghchi warned on Saturday that Washington’s constant change of stance prolongs nuclear talks.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” Araghchi said.