Iran states it does not trust the US's willingness to negotiate, following two failures

Washington (ANTARA) - Iran has stated that it does not trust the United States in discussions with several mediator countries attempting to facilitate talks, based on previous experiences, according to the Axios portal citing related sources.

According to the report, negotiations between the US and Iran have failed twice. In June, Israel, with the support of US President Donald Trump, attacked Iran ahead of a round of talks, while in February, the US and Israel launched an operation after an initial agreement was reached on the nuclear issue.

“We do not want to be deceived again,” one source said, as quoted by Axios.

Iran is also said to have informed authorities in Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey that the increased US military presence in the region further strengthens Tehran’s concerns that Trump’s offer of peaceful negotiations may be just a strategy.

On Tuesday, Trump stated that he had appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner as the US negotiation team with Iran. He added that the negotiation process would resume on Sunday and indicated Tehran’s seriousness in seeking a resolution to the conflict.

However, on Monday, Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf denied Trump’s statement and said his country has not held talks with the US, assessing that there is fake news being used to influence the markets.

On 28 February, the United States and Israel launched attacks on several targets in Iran, including in Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties. Iran then retaliated by attacking Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East.

The US and Israel initially stated that the “preliminary” attacks were necessary to counter threats from Iran’s nuclear programme, but later affirmed their desire to see a change of power in the country.