Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday said his country was willing to engage in dialogue with the United States as equals, without clarifying whether Tehran would participate in direct talks,
The Times of Israel reports.
It came after US President Donald Trump, who has called on Tehran to hold direct negotiations on its nuclear program, threatened to bomb Iran if diplomacy fails.
Iran says it is ready to engage in dialogue but refuses direct talks under threats and pressure.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran wants dialogue on equal footing,” Pezeshkian said during a meeting, according to the presidency’s website.
Trump has written to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, trying to jumpstart direct talks between Tehran and Washington. So far, Iran has maintained it is willing to engage in indirect talks, but such discussions under the Biden administration have failed to make headway.
On Thursday, Trump said he would prefer to hold “direct talks” with Iran. “I think it goes faster and you understand the other side a lot better than if you go through intermediaries,” the US president argued.
But on Saturday, Pezeshkian asked: “If you want negotiations, then what is the point of threatening?”
“Today, America is not only humiliating Iran, but also the world,” Pezeshkian added, in an apparent reference to recent policies adopted by Trump, including imposing tariffs on imported goods.
