TEHRAN – Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has repeated the country’s stance on talks with the United States, saying Tehran will not engage with Washington under any circumstances as long as President Donald Trump keeps sanctions in place and threatens Iran with military action. 

“If negotiations are conducted with dignity and based on mutual respect and shared interests, we will sit down and talk,” Pezeshkian stated during a meeting of the Iran Entrepreneurs Forum in Tehran on Tuesday, adding, “But the language of threats and coercion is absolutely unacceptable.”

The president pointed to Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent encounter at the Oval Office, where the Ukrainian leader was berated by Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, multiple times in front of cameras. Zelensky was asked to say “thank you”, admit that Ukraine has “no cards”, and “respect” the Americans after he asked for security guarantees in any potential ceasefire agreement with Russia. Reports say he was subsequently kicked out of the White House. 

“We must maintain relationships with the world. We do not want to be estranged or quarrel with anyone, but that does not mean we will bow in humiliation before anyone,” Pezeshkian explained. “It is unacceptable for someone to come along and say, ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that, or else.’ I won’t come to negotiate with you. Go do whatever the hell you want.” 

Ever since Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iran nuclear deal, in 2018, he has called for new negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear program. After abandoning the JCPOA, Trump reimposed sanctions that had been lifted under the agreement and initiated a "maximum pressure" campaign, seeking to dismantle not only the entirety of Iran's nuclear program but also huge parts of its missile and drone programs as well as its alliances with regional Resistance groups.

Pezeshkian, who took office as Iran’s president in July, was far less strict on talks with the United States compared to his conservative rival Saeed Jalili.  But since Trump renewed the maximum pressure campaign in February, Pezeshkian too has taken a hard stance on potential negotiations, reflecting the sentiments of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who has said that talks with the U.S. are “unwise, unintelligent, and dishonorable”. He also said that for the “bullying” U.S., negotiations are a way to impose demands, rather than find a real solution. 

That assessment seems correct as Trump has threatened to “bomb the hell out of Iran” if the country does not sign the deal he wants. 

Analysts point out that Iranians are increasingly distrustful of the U.S., and Trump's continuing and intensifying aggressive policies are only worsening the situation.

Trump announced earlier this month that he had written a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei. Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baqaei stated that the letter was given to UAE official Anwar Mohammed Gargash, who visited Tehran on Wednesday. 

Whether Ayatollah Khamenei will accept the letter remains uncertain. In 2019, the Leader refused to accept a letter from Trump, delivered by then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A similar rejection is possible given the lack of change in U.S. policy.