Iran must negotiate in good faith or face renewed attacks, White House says

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he called off a planned military attack on Iran scheduled for Tuesday after the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates urged him to hold off as “serious negotiations” were underway.

Trump said Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed had asked him to delay the attack because they believed a deal could be reached that would be “very acceptable” to the United States, the Middle East and beyond.

“This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN!” Trump said.

Trump said that, out of respect for the three Persian Gulf leaders, he had instructed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Daniel Caine and the US military not to carry out the scheduled attack.

But he warned that the order could be reversed quickly if talks fail.

“I have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached,” Trump said.

“Under no circumstances will (Iran) retreat from the legal rights of the people and the country,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on X, referring to Iran’s position in talks with the United States.

“Dialogue does not mean surrender,” Pezeshkian added.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran enters into dialogue with dignity, authority, and the preservation of the nation’s rights,” he said.

“As for those who chant that we should not negotiate — if we do not negotiate, what should we do? Fight until the end? We negotiate with dignity,” Masoud Pezeshkian said in an address to an event held in Tehran.

“It is not logical to say we will not negotiate,” he said. “We are capable of defending the nation’s rights with the people’s backing. We must speak logically and receive a logical answer.”

His comments come amid a fragile ceasefire in the six-week war between Iran and the US and Israel, with Pakistan-mediated efforts to reach a final deal unsuccessful despite exchanges of US and Iranian proposals.

Hardline figures have opposed further talks without major US concessions. Mohammad Ali Jafari, a former commander-in-chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said Monday no further negotiations should take place unless Iran’s conditions were met.

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, deputy head of parliament’s National Security Committee, said Sunday talks would be futile unless sanctions were lifted and blocked Iranian assets were released.

Adversaries exploit division

Pezeshkian tied the push for talks with the United States to a broader call for national unity, warning that Iran’s adversaries could exploit internal divisions more effectively than military attacks.

“We stand with dignity against foreigners, we negotiate, and we will defend the nation’s rights,” he said.

“We will stand against any aggression with unity and cohesion,” he added. “They cannot occupy the country with missiles and bombs, but they can with division and conflict. We must try to ensure that this unity and cohesion is not broken.”

Reports of divisions among Islamic Republic officials have emerged on multiple occasions since the war began. On March 28, reports pointed to serious disagreements between Pezeshkian and Ahmad Vahidi, the Revolutionary Guards commander who is now said to be the most powerful figure in the force.

Informed sources told Iran International at the time that the dispute stemmed from “the handling of the war and its destructive consequences for people’s livelihoods and the country’s economy.”

Three days later, Iran International received reports that Pezeshkian was frustrated at being placed in a “complete political deadlock” and that he had even been stripped of the authority to appoint replacements for government officials killed during the war.

Acknowledging damage, hardship after war

Pezeshkian said officials must be honest about the pressure Iran faces and should not claim the country has escaped harm.

“It is not the case that we have not been harmed,” he said.

He said Iran had sustained damage to energy and industrial infrastructure following Israeli-US airstrikes.

“We must take on a war footing,” he said. “They hit 230 million cubic meters of our gas; they hit our power plant, petrochemical facility and Mobarakeh Steel.”

“One cannot claim that we have no problems and that they are being destroyed,” he added.

He said Iran would not back down but must manage the country with prudence.

“One cannot say the enemy is being destroyed and we are flourishing,” he said. “They have problems and we also have problems. We will by no means bow our heads.”

The acknowledgment contrasted with Iran’s public victory narrative after the ceasefire, even as the country's economy had been battered, prices had risen and factories, power plants, railways, airports and bridges had been destroyed.

Oil exports squeezed as fuel shortfall deepens

Pezeshkian said Iran was under mounting economic pressure, with oil exports constrained.

“They closed the route and we are not exporting oil either,” he said. “We cannot export oil easily. Saying that we have not encountered any problem is one of those statements.”

He added that strikes on Iran's gasoline production facilities had deepened the country's fuel shortfall, with daily output at 100 million liters against demand of 150 million liters.

“Our gasoline production capacity has decreased. They hit it,” he said.

Reuters reported that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports had cut Iran’s oil exports by more than 80% over April 13-25 compared with the same period in March, leaving growing volumes of crude stranded on tankers.

Iran exported 1.84 million barrels per day of crude in March, before the US military began blocking shipping traffic in and out of Iranian ports.

The The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Monday the UAE had informed the UN nuclear watchdog that off-site power was restored to Unit 3 of the Barakah nuclear power plant after a Sunday drone strike caused a fire in an electrical generator near the site.

In a post on X, IAEA said Director General Rafael Grossi welcomed the restoration of external electricity as “an important step for nuclear safety, which means the reactor no longer needs emergency diesel generators for power.”

Grossi added that “nuclear sites and other installations important for nuclear safety must never be targeted by military activity.”

President Donald Trump told the New York Post he is “not open” to concessions to Tehran after Iran’s latest response to US efforts to reach a deal to end the war.

Trump said he was not “frustrated” with Tehran but suggested Iran understands the risk of further US action. “I can tell you they want to make a deal more than ever, because they know we’re—what’s going to be happening soon."

Asked about his earlier suggestion that he might accept a 20-year moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, Trump said: “I’m not open to anything right now.”

The president declined to elaborate, saying: “I can’t really talk to you about it. Too many things are happening.

Trump reportedly held talks with his national security team over the weekend at his Virginia golf club after returning from China, with further meetings expected Tuesday as some allies press him to resume military operations against Iran, the report said.

Asked about claims that Iran may be trying to wait out Washington over the nuclear issue and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said he “hadn’t heard that.”

“I’m not hearing anything,” he said. “I can’t talk to you about it.”

“It’s a negotiation. I don’t want to be stupid,” Trump added.