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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that negotiations with the U.S. to end the seven-month Middle East war could only succeed if they were conducted without pressure or threats, as diplomatic efforts remained stalled.
Speaking at a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Turkmenistan, Pezeshkian said talks must be based on mutual respect and commitments.
“Dialogue holds meaning and a chance of success only when based on mutual respect and mutual commitments, and when devoid of pressure and threat,” Pezeshkian said.
“Negotiation conducted in the shadow of force is not negotiation, it is imposition and coercion,” he added.
Pezeshkian also warned that sanctions on Iran would affect “regional trade, connectivity, energy, and order.”
The conflict began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.
Washington and Tehran agreed to a memorandum of understanding in June outlining a framework for ending the fighting, but U.S. military operations resumed after Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Recent indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly failed to produce a breakthrough.
Pezeshkian said Monday that negotiations with Washington were meaningless if they were followed by renewed attacks.
“With an enemy that everyday resorts to assassination, sanctions, pressure and threats, and that breaks its commitments, negotiations are meaningless,” he said.
The U.S. has reduced military operations in recent weeks in favor of economic pressure and has not struck Iran since Sept. 1.
The U.S. and Israel have said the war was necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, a goal Tehran has long denied pursuing.
The focus of negotiations has shifted toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for Gulf oil that has been effectively shut since the conflict began.
Iran has sought to impose control over the waterway and has struck vessels attempting to transit without its authorization.
The U.S. has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports and has also struck vessels it accuses of violating the restrictions.
U.S. President Donald Trump told the U.N. General Assembly in September that he would have to decide whether to “annihilate” Iran if Tehran failed to reach a deal.
Trump has since ruled out further attacks on Iran before the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections and said Thursday that Washington was holding “productive discussions” with Tehran.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Moscow was prepared to do “everything” it could to help end the war during a meeting with Pezeshkian ahead of the CIS summit.
“We are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation,” Putin said, according to Russian media.
He said Iran had made “real efforts to end the war” since the U.S.-Israeli attacks began and described relations between Russia and Iran as showing a “positive evolution.”
Pezeshkian told Putin that Tehran wanted a “final framework” to end the conflict.
“We are engaged in dialogue, but every time we negotiate with the United States, they attack again,” Pezeshkian said, according to Iranian state media.
He accused Washington of attempting to impose its policies on other countries.
“If the United States insists on pursuing a unilateral approach, a resolution will not be possible,” he said.
Russia and Iran, both heavily sanctioned by Western countries, have strengthened diplomatic and military ties since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukraine and Western countries have accused Iran of supplying Russia with Shahed drones and short-range missiles used in attacks on Ukraine.
U.S. media outlets have also reported that Russia supplied Iran with data for attacks on U.S. targets in the Middle East.
The Commonwealth of Independent States was established in 1991 as a forum for former Soviet republics.
Georgia withdrew following its 2008 war with Russia, Ukraine halted participation after Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, and Moldova left in 2023 as it pursued closer ties with the European Union.
The summit comes as diplomatic efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine also remain stalled, with both sides intensifying attacks.
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