Pezeshkian: US must lift sanctions, threats before any talks as Iran distrusts Washington

President Masoud Pezeshkian says the United States must lift its threats and sanctions before any talks can proceed, saying the Iranian people no longer trust Washington after its attacks on Iran during diplomatic talks.

Pezeshkian made the remarks during a meeting with Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Tuesday evening, thanking Islamabad for its efforts to resolve regional issues through diplomacy.

Recalling Washington’s repeated breaches of commitments, Pezeshkian said the United States had attacked Iran in the middle of negotiations and assassinated the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, scientists and innocent schoolchildren without any legal justification.
“All the problems created in the region, from escalating tensions and conflicts to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, stem from the Americans’ warmongering nature,” he said.

The president stressed that Washington must first demonstrate its willingness to remove threats and sanctions to create the conditions for dialogue.
“You cannot intensify sanctions and pressure day after day and close off routes and avenues to our country, and then claim that you want dialogue and negotiations. What kind of dialogue is this?” he asked.
Pezeshkian said war was in the interests of neither Iran nor the wider region and the world, including the United States. He added that Washington must explain why it started the war and brought problems and difficulties upon itself and the international community.

“We have been and remain ready for dialogue,” he said. “But the Americans must first remove their threats and sanctions, and then we can talk.”

If Washington genuinely sought negotiations and an agreement, he maintained, its actions were entirely at odds with those claims and made no logical sense.

The president warned that the United States would not achieve its objectives through war and would instead cause destruction and damage not only in Iran but across the region. He said Tehran did not want such an outcome.

Pezeshkian also called on Washington to prove to the Iranian people that it would not deceive them again.
“Today, our nation does not trust America and believes that if we negotiate, they will attack us again,” he said.
He noted that US officials and media outlets repeatedly publicized the prospect of renewed attacks in an apparent effort to frighten the Iranian people.

“While they seek to frighten our people, our nation is not afraid of martyrdom,” he said.

Addressing Munir, Pezeshkian urged Pakistan, as a Muslim brother, to convey to the Americans that Muslims could not be treated in such a manner.

“We do not want to impose our will on anyone, but we will not submit to coercion,” he said.