Iran ‘no longer trusts talks with Washington’: Pezeshkian

TEHRAN, Sept 26: Iranian President MasoudPezeshkian has said Tehran no longer trusts negotiations with the United States, accusing Washington and Israel of dragging regional countries into war and seeking to control the Middle East’s resources.

In an interview with Al Jazeera aired Saturday, Pezeshkian said previous rounds of talks had been followed by attacks and sanctions, making it difficult for Iran to establish trust with Washington.

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“We have no trust in the American side and do not know on what basis an understanding can be reached with it,” he said.

Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to the United States this week for the United Nations gathering of world leaders, where Tehran presented a proposal aimed at ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.

Under the proposal, Washington would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waive sanctions on Iranian oil exports, release around $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets and observe a regional ceasefire, including in Lebanon and Yemen.

In return, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks with Washington on its nuclear programme. Araghchi said Friday that initial steps would take four to five days, the waterway would reopen on the sixth day and negotiations on a final agreement would begin on the seventh.

Pezeshkian said Qatar and Pakistan were conveying Iran's messages to Washington. He added that Tehran wanted the United States to clarify its position on a memorandum of understanding reached in June, which lapsed last month.

The Iranian president also rejected claims that Tehran was responsible for closing the Strait of Hormuz, saying the United States had blocked Iran's routes first.    �"AL JAZEERA