Iran Says US Mistakes Negotiation for Dictating Terms

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei has criticized Washington’s approach to indirect negotiations with Tehran, saying the United States has confused genuine diplomacy with an attempt to dictate terms. Speaking at his weekly press briefing in Tehran on Tuesday, Baqaei said Washington could not impose its demands on the Islamic Republic. He stressed that Iran would use diplomatic channels whenever necessary to explain its positions and defend the rights of the Iranian people, while decisions by the Foreign Ministry would continue to be guided by national interests and directives from the relevant authorities.

Baqaei said Tehran was closely monitoring US actions and warned that Iran’s armed forces would respond to any act of aggression. He described Washington’s hostile behavior toward Iran as nothing new, saying previous hostile measures had repeatedly been met with an appropriate response. Addressing recent diplomatic efforts, he said visits by senior officials from Oman, Qatar and Pakistan were part of broader regional efforts to reduce tensions. Regarding Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir’s visit to Tehran, Baqaei said he had carried “neither a positive message nor a negative one,” describing the visit as consistent with Pakistan’s role as a friendly neighboring country and its recent efforts to facilitate de-escalation.

The Iranian spokesman also accused Washington of creating confusion through contradictory positions on war and diplomacy. He argued that the United States was confronting a crisis resulting from its own decisions, including what he described as unlawful military action against Iran and the escalation of regional tensions. Baqaei further said Tehran was pursuing legal avenues over US attacks that it considers war crimes and crimes against humanity, including strikes in Minab, Lamerd and Qeshm Island. He said the attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, where many children were reportedly among the casualties, and the Lamerd incident involving alleged use of prohibited weapons had received particular attention, but stressed that all incidents should be documented for potential proceedings before Iranian courts and international legal forums.