Iran says US must rebuild trust to exit conflict

Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of Iran’s Parliament, has said the United States must take concrete steps to regain the trust of the Iranian people if it seeks a way out of the current conflict.

Speaking to reporters on his return from Pakistan, where he participated in peace talks with a US delegation in Islamabad, Qalibaf said Washington bore responsibility for repairing relations.

“The United States is indebted to the Iranian people and must work to compensate them,” he said, adding that Iran would respond firmly to any aggression but remain open to reasoned dialogue.

“If they fight, we will fight; if they act with logic, we will respond with logic. We will not surrender to threats,” he said, dismissing recent warnings from US President Donald Trump as ineffective.

Qalibaf described the negotiations in Islamabad as “intensive, serious and challenging”, noting that Iran’s delegation had presented a range of proposals aimed at demonstrating goodwill and advancing discussions.

However, he emphasised that deep mistrust remains a major obstacle, tracing it back decades and accusing the United States of undermining confidence through repeated actions, including recent military strikes during ongoing negotiations.

Delegations from Iran and the United States held extended talks over the weekend, but the discussions ended without a breakthrough. The meeting followed a ceasefire agreement earlier in the week involving Iran, the US and Israel after weeks of heightened conflict.

Despite the truce, tensions remain high, with both sides continuing to test each other’s intentions as diplomatic efforts struggle to gain traction.

With IANS inputs