Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has ruled out talks with the United States until Washington ends what he called its threats and pressure, including the blockade of vessels sailing to and from Iranian ports. Speaking on Saturday night, he said Tehran would not take part in "forced negotiations," Iran's state broadcaster IRIB reported.
Pezeshkian made the remarks in a phone call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. He told Sharif that current American policy was eroding trust and making diplomatic progress harder. Movement toward dialogue, he said, would remain unlikely unless Washington ended its "hostile actions and operational pressures."
The Iranian president also named a specific precondition. To create conditions for resolving the dispute, he said, the United States must first remove "operational obstacles, including the blockade" on shipping to and from Iranian ports.
A statement from the Pakistani Prime Minister's Office said Sharif told Pezeshkian that Islamabad "would continue its sincere and honest endeavors to promote regional peace and security." On social media, Sharif also thanked Iran for the senior delegation it had sent to Islamabad, headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The delegation left Pakistan on Saturday and continued to Muscat, Oman, for further regional discussions.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, had been due in Islamabad on Saturday. Trump called off the trip at the last minute, writing on Truth Social:
"Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their 'leadership.' Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!"
In a later Fox News interview, Trump said he had told his team they would not be "making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing."
