Iran slams Trump’s mixed messages, says Tehran unafraid of threats

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has criticised US President Donald Trump for sending contradictory signals on peace and threats, reaffirming that Tehran will not surrender to intimidation or abandon its nuclear rights.

"Which should we believe? On the one hand, he speaks of peace, and on the other, he threatens with the most advanced tools of mass killing," Pezeshkian stated during a naval event in Tehran on May 17, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

While reaffirming Iran’s willingness to continue nuclear negotiations with the United States, Pezeshkian emphasised that the Islamic Republic is not intimidated by threats. 

"We negotiate and do not seek war, but we are not afraid of any threat either," he stated. 

The president accused the US of double standards, saying that although Iranian scientists are being targeted in assassinations, Iran is the one blamed for regional instability. 

"Because we refuse to bow to bullying, they say we are source of instability in the region," he said.

The remarks come amid ongoing tensions surrounding the Iran-US nuclear talks. Trump claimed on May 16 that Iran had received a new US proposal on its nuclear program. However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi swiftly denied the claim, writing on X that no such proposal had been received.

Araqchi further warned that Washington’s inconsistent positions are hindering diplomatic progress. 

“It is absolutely unacceptable that America repeatedly defines a new framework for negotiations that prolongs the process,” he wrote.

President Pezeshkian echoed these concerns, stating that Iran will not “back down from our legitimate rights,” including uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes. 

"Trump has said things in [his visit to] the region that no one but himself can believe. On the one hand, he is speaking of peace, and on the other hand, he is saying that they have created a tool that is terrible," he said. 

A fourth round of Iran-US talks ended in Oman on May 11. No date has been set for the next round of negotiations.

By Sabina Mammadli