Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday that the United States cannot expect dialogue with Iran while it is blockading and threatening the country, according to remarks carried by Iranian state media and reported by Reuters.

Source: Reuters

'Threats and sanctions must be removed in practice to create the conditions for dialogue,' Pezeshkian wrote on X on Wednesday, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported. 'You can't intensify sanctions and pressure every day, close off avenues for engagement, and at the same time talk about negotiations,' he added.

Source: Tasnim News Agency

Speaking earlier on Wednesday at a ceremony in Tehran, Pezeshkian said Washington 'must recognise the rights of our nation and cease their bullying and aggression; only then can we sit down together and engage in dialogue,' Al Jazeera reported, citing Iranian state media. He also accused the United States of reneging on agreements it has signed, saying a pact, once made, must be honoured 'even if it proves disadvantageous.'

Source: Al Jazeera

Mediation continues, positions harden

The remarks came a day after Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, visited Tehran, where Iranian officials told him that Iran's enriched uranium would remain in the country and repeated Tehran's conditions for renewed talks with Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told US media that reaching a peace deal with Iran would be extremely difficult and that economic pressure would continue until Tehran stopped targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reported.

The exchange underlines how far apart the two sides remain: Tehran insists sanctions, threats and the maritime blockade must end first, while Washington says pressure will stay until shipping attacks stop and Iran's nuclear programme is addressed. No date for renewed direct talks has been announced.