Iran says it will not return to negotiations with US, declares ‘no trust in Trump’
CAIRO, EGYPT: Iran will not return to negotiations with the United States amid the escalating regional conflict, an Iranian diplomat said Thursday, dismissing claims by President Donald Trump that Tehran is seeking talks to end the war.
Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, speaking from the Iranian embassy in Cairo, told the Associated Press that Iran has not asked to talk to Washington and does not plan to do so because trust has completely broken down after previous diplomatic efforts failed.
‘No trust in Trump’ after failed US-Iran talks
Iran has not requested talks with the United States to bring an end to the widening war, Iran’s ambassador to Egypt told AP Thursday, denying comments by US President Donald Trump that the country “wants to talk.”
Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour said a lack of trust makes any engagement impossible after talks for a possible nuclear deal twice failed and ended with the war.
“There will be no trust in Trump,” he said.
His comments come as fighting intensifies following the launch of Operation Epic Fury, the joint US–Israeli military campaign against Iran that began in late February and triggered retaliatory strikes across the region.
Ferdousi Pour said diplomatic engagement was impossible without mutual confidence between the two sides.
“How is it possible that without mutual trust, without a lack of trust, without reliance on the other side, to ask them to return to negotiations again? I don't think so.”
Iran condemns Khamenei killing and labels US, Israel as targets
The diplomat also condemned the killing of Iran’s longtime leader, Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the opening phase of the war, calling the attacks “heinous crimes.”
"This aggression is a heinous crime, therefore we have no choice but to legitimate defense.”
Tehran, he said, considers any American or Israeli military facilities in the region legitimate targets if they are used in attacks against Iran.
“Therefore, any military bases or facilities belonging to the United States or the occupying Israeli entity within the region are considered targets of Iranian attack, because these are not considered a part of friendly or brotherly countries; they are considered US territory or Iranian enemy territory."
Iran says US seeks to weaken its regional influence
Ferdousi Pour also disagreed with the idea that the conflict was only about Iran's missile program or nuclear ambitions.
Instead, he said that Washington and its allies' main goal was to weaken Iran strategically.
"It is not true to say that America came to Iran and attacked Iran and started a war on Iran for a military war, for Iranian long-range missiles, no, it's for Iranian oil, for seeking Iranian geopolitical role, for bringing down the regime, for fragmenting the regime.”
He warned that Iran would respond across multiple arenas.
“This war is a comprehensive war” he said.
Ferdousi defends Iran strikes on US bases in Middle East
The diplomat talked about the reasoning behind Iran’s targeting of US military bases in countries like Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
“We have declared repeatedly that if there are bases on the borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran belonging to the United States, and they will benefit from these bases, they will be targeted,” he said, from the Iranian Embassy in Cairo, adding that the war extends beyond military engagement.
