Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that negotiations with the United States would not mean “surrender or retreat,” after Iran reportedly sent its response to a U.S. proposal to mediator Pakistan.
“We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat,” Pezeshkian said in a statement posted on X. “Rather, the goal is to uphold the rights of the Iranian nation and to defend national interests with resolute strength.”
“The Pakistanis are confirming that they have received the Iranian response to the US proposal,” Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder reported from Islamabad. “Now Pakistan has received it, it will be important to see when it is communicated to the United States, and then to see the reaction from Washington.”
Iran’s IRNA news agency said Iran’s proposal calls for the current round of negotiations to focus only on stopping hostilities in the region, citing a source familiar with the matter.
Sources in both camps told Reuters the latest peace efforts are aimed at reaching a temporary memorandum of understanding. The arrangement would stop the war and allow traffic through the Strait of Hormuz while talks continue on a fuller agreement.
Reuters reported that any broader deal would have to address unresolved disputes, including Iran’s nuclear program.
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