DUBAI, May 23 - Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir during meetings in Tehran on Saturday that Tehran would not make concessions in negotiations with the United States and accused Washington of not being an honest negotiating partner, state television reported.
Munir, who had two separate meetings with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, also met President Masoud Pezeshkian in the presence of Araqchi before departing Iran, state media said. The talks concentrated on a 14-point document that Iran regards as the principal framework for the discussions, together with exchanged messages between the sides.
Qalibaf said Iran would pursue its "legitimate rights", "both on the battlefield and through diplomacy", but added that it could not rely on what he called "a party that has no honesty at all", a recurring allegation from Iranian officials. He said Iran’s armed forces had used the ceasefire period to rebuild their capabilities and warned that if the United States "foolishly restarts the war", the result would be "more forceful and bitter" than at the outset of the conflict.
The mediation effort led by Pakistan aims to narrow gaps between Tehran and Washington after several weeks of combat that, despite a nervous ceasefire, have left the strategic Strait of Hormuz closed to most shipping. That disruption has upended global energy markets, according to the reporting on the talks.
Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday the United States had seen some progress toward a deal but that more work remained to be done. Iran’s foreign ministry, however, said the differences between the two sides remained "deep and significant."
Despite the weeks of conflict, Iran has retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium as well as its missile, drone and proxy capabilities that the United States and Israel say they seek to curb.
Context and reporting limitations: Reporting described the content of the meetings and the 14-point proposal as presented by Iranian state media. The accounts reflect statements attributed to Iranian officials and the Pakistani delegation; details beyond what was reported by state media and the quoted officials were not provided.