Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei called on Tehran to disregard what he described as conflicting messages from US President Donald Trump regarding possible negotiations.
“Don’t get distracted by the US president’s mixed signals-from ‘no negotiations’ to ‘we’re ready to talk,’" Rezaei wrote on social media on Monday.
“The stakes around oil and the straits have changed. Damage control won’t stop what’s coming," he added. “No talks until Iran’s conditions are met. Period!"
His remarks followed comments by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said Monday that Tehran is willing to return to negotiations with Washington, including talks concerning Iran's nuclear program. Pezeshkian, however, said the US must first lift sanctions, halt unilateral measures and abandon attempts to negotiate through military pressure.
“We are ready for dialogue," Pezeshkian told India Today, adding that negotiations on the nuclear issue should take place within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and international law.
Pezeshkian also questioned why Washington wants to reopen negotiations rather than continue from an understanding he said had already been reached in Pakistan.
“I don’t know what was wrong with what we wrote in Pakistan that the United States now wants us to talk again from scratch," he said. “What was illogical there? What did we say that was outside the logical, legal and scientific frameworks recognized in the world?"
The Iranian President further said Tehran is uncertain about which of Trump's statements should be considered the official US position.
“We don’t know which of the things Trump says we are ultimately supposed to accept and stand by," Pezeshkian said.
Trump, for his part, said Monday that Iran wants to reach an agreement with Washington and indicated that the United States remains open to renewed talks. He said, however, that he would make the final decision on whether to enter negotiations.
“The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly," Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage - the concept of which we are open to."
The two countries have held several rounds of negotiations during the ongoing war but have yet to reach an agreement. The failure to make progress has been accompanied by renewed attacks by both sides against targets and interests across the region.
Last week, US forces struck several Iranian oil tankers connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran responded by launching a barrage of missiles toward US bases in Jordan.
The following day, Trump predicted that the conflict would end immediately after the US midterm elections in November, saying Iran “can't hold out any longer."
Trump also accused Tehran of deliberately extending the conflict in an effort to affect the elections. “They're desperate to try and affect the election so that we could get a nice, weak group of people in there and leave them alone and let them have their nuclear weapon."