Iran says it no longer trusts talks with Washington amid war and sanctions dispute

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Tehran no longer trusts negotiations with the United States, as Iran waits for a response to a new proposal aimed at ending the war and easing pressure on its economy. In remarks aired on Saturday, he said Iran does not know on what basis an understanding can be reached with Washington after previous rounds of talks were followed by attacks and sanctions. He also said Qatar and Pakistan are relaying Iran's messages to the United States.

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Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in the United States this week for the United Nations gathering of world leaders in New York, where Iran presented a phased plan. Araghchi said the first steps would take four to five days, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on the sixth day, and talks with the United States would begin on day seven over a final deal on mutually agreed issues, including Iran's nuclear programme. Under the proposal, Washington would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, release an estimated $12bn in frozen Iranian assets and observe a ceasefire covering the wider region, including Lebanon and Yemen.

In return, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which about a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passed before the war, and which has become one of Tehran's main points of leverage. Pezeshkian said the crisis could be resolved through negotiations rather than force, and argued that the waterway would reopen to commercial shipping if talks ended the war. He also denied that Iran was responsible for blocking the strait, saying the United States had closed the routes first and that the closure was a natural response to restrictions on Iran.

The proposal comes against the backdrop of a conflict that Iran says began in late February, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Pezeshkian said the latest talks are based on a memorandum of understanding reached in June, but that the agreement lapsed last month and Washington must clarify its position. The timing of the proposal, during the annual UN diplomatic gathering, suggests Tehran is trying to use the international forum to press its case while also keeping channels open through intermediaries.

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The Strait of Hormuz is central to the dispute because it is one of the world's most important energy chokepoints. Any disruption there can affect global oil and gas flows, shipping costs and regional security calculations well beyond Iran's borders. The inclusion of sanctions relief, frozen assets and a ceasefire framework also shows that the talks are not limited to the nuclear file, but are tied to the wider military and economic confrontation.

What remains unclear is whether Washington will engage with the proposal, and whether the mediators can turn the exchange of messages into direct negotiations. It is also not clear how the June memorandum would be revived after its lapse last month, or whether the parties can agree on sequencing for the strait, sanctions and ceasefire measures. The next developments to watch are any formal US response, further mediation by Qatar and Pakistan, and whether the situation around the Strait of Hormuz changes in the coming days.

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