THE MIND OF THE PEOPLE – President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that Iran will remain careful in carrying out negotiations with United States of America to protect the country’s national interests.
Pezeshkian made this statement when receiving a visit from the Chief of Army Staff Pakistan, Asim Munirin Tehran on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
During the meeting, Pezeshkian touched on Iran’s various bad experiences in relations with Washington, including alleged violations of commitments by the US, attacks on Iran in the middle of the negotiation process, and the assassination of a number of Iranian officials which were said to have increased public distrust towards the United States.
According to the official Iranian presidential statement, Pezeshkian emphasized that his country remains open to diplomatic channels with the support of friendly countries, including Pakistan, but Iran’s main goal is to safeguard the interests of its people.
“But our main goal is solely to protect the interests of the Iranian nation through appropriate solutions,” Pezeshkian said.
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He added that Iran only wants to defend the rights of its people which are considered legitimate and in accordance with international law.
“We only seek to protect the legal and legal rights of our people, but our history and experience in negotiating with the US encourage us to be very careful,” he said.
Pezeshkian also emphasized that war never provides benefits for any party and will only cause major losses for the region and the international world.
Pakistan Supports Regional Stability
On the same occasion, Asim Munir expressed Pakistan’s commitment to continuing to support the stability of the Middle East region.
Munir, who arrived in Tehran on Friday evening local time, said he welcomed the progress of the ongoing negotiations and hoped that the diplomatic process could produce a positive agreement for Iran and countries in the region.
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Pakistan has in recent months been known to play a mediating role in communications between Iran and the United States following rising tensions in the region.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries had heated up following the armed conflict between Iran, the US and Israel which broke at the end of February 2026.
Iran Affirms a Number of Conditions in Negotiations
Separately, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported that peace negotiations with the United States could potentially fail if Washington does not show flexibility towards a number of Iranian demands.
Citing sources close to the Iranian negotiating team, Fars said Tehran refused to discuss its nuclear program in the early stages of negotiations.
Iran is also said to be demanding the release of its frozen assets before the negotiation process continues, and still wants to maintain full control over it Strait of Hormuz which is an important route for world oil trade.
According to the report, there will be no progress in negotiations if the three main issues do not find common ground.
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The Iran-US conflict ended in fighting
Tensions between Iran, the US and Israel previously sparked a 40-day armed conflict which began on February 28 2026 after the US and Israeli military attacks on Iran.
The conflict finally subsided after a ceasefire was reached on April 8 2026.
After the ceasefire, delegations from Iran and the United States held a round of peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 11-12 2026. However, this meeting did not produce a final agreement.
In recent weeks, the two parties have reportedly continued to exchange proposals through Pakistani mediation to find a diplomatic solution to end the conflict and reduce tensions in the Middle East region.***
