‘Negotiation does not mean coercion’: Iran says it is reviewing US proposal

Tehran says it is still reviewing Washington’s latest proposal for a potential agreement to end the war, with no official response yet delivered.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Wednesday that genuine negotiation requires good faith, not dictation or extortion.

In an interview with ISNA news agency, Baghaei said, “The US proposal is still being reviewed by Iran, and once Tehran finalizes its views, it will convey them to the Pakistani side.”

In a separate post on X, Baghaei elaborated on Tehran’s understanding of what negotiations entail, citing international law.

“The concept of ‘negotiations’ requires, at the very least, a genuine attempt to engage in discussions with a view to resolving the dispute (ICJ, Judgement of 1 April 2011, para. 157),” he wrote.

“It needs ‘good faith’, then, meaning that ‘negotiations’ is not ‘disputation’; nor is it ‘dictation’, ‘deception’, ‘extortion’ or ‘coercion’.”

Iranian officials have repeatedly criticized the United States for its approach to talks as the White House seeks to impose conditions rather than engage in genuine give-and-take.

Unacceptable US clauses and Trump’s ‘reckless’ move

Informed sources told Tasnim News Agency that despite American media claims about getting closer to a one-page preliminary agreement, Iran has not yet responded to the latest US text.

The informed sources told Tasnim that the latest text, delivered before Washington’s hostile adventure in the Persian Gulf under the so-called “Project Freedom,” contained several unacceptable provisions.

“Propaganda by American media today is mostly aimed at justifying Trump’s retreat from his recent hostile act; that act was wrong from the start and should never have been undertaken.”

The source added that Iran had transmitted a reasonable and logical 14-point proposal through Pakistani mediators before the United States sent its own plan. Iran, the source said, was reviewing that plan when Washington embarked on its new reckless adventure and interrupted the process.

“Experience should have shown the Americans that the language of force and threats is not only ineffective against Iran but worsens the situation for the US and other enemies.”

‘Bad faith undermines diplomacy’

Following Donald Trump’s retreat from the hostile move, Iran has resumed its review, the source said.

The friction over the pace of diplomacy coincides with Washington’s continued naval blockade of Iranian ports, which Tehran considers illegal and a breach of the fragile ceasefire brokered by Pakistan in early April.

Baghaei’s insistence on “good faith” echoes consistent Iranian demands that the United States must stop what Tehran calls “contradictory messages, inconsistent behavior and unacceptable actions” before any new round of talks can be scheduled.

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