This photo released by the Iranian presidency's press office shows the President of the Islamic Republic, Massoud Pezeshkian, during his annual address to the nation on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, in Tehran, on March 20, 2025. (Credit: Iranian Presidency/AFP.)
The Iranian president, Massoud Pezeshkian, indicated Saturday that his country was willing to dialogue "on an equal footing" with the U.S., without clarifying if Tehran accepted direct talks as suggested by Donald Trump.
The U.S. president, who has called on Tehran for negotiations regarding the Iranian nuclear program, threatened in recent days to bomb Iran if diplomacy fails. Iran says it is ready to discuss with the United States but has refused direct talks under threat and pressure. "The Islamic Republic of Iran wants to dialogue on an equal footing," Pezeshkian stated during a meeting, according to statements reported by the presidency. Trump asserted Thursday that he would prefer to hold "direct negotiations" with Iran. "It's faster, and you understand the other side much better than through intermediaries," argued the U.S. president.
The Iranians "wanted intermediaries (but) I don't think that's the case anymore," added Trump aboard the presidential plane Air Force One. "If you want to negotiate, why threaten?" Pezeshkian pondered Saturday. "Today, America not only humiliates Iran but also the entire world," he noted, possibly alluding to the customs surtaxes imposed by Trump on U.S. allies.
For decades, Western countries, led by the United States, have suspected Tehran of wanting to acquire nuclear weapons. Iran rejects these allegations and claims that its nuclear activities are purely for civil purposes, notably energy. On Saturday, General Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, asserted that his country was "ready" for war. "We are not worried at all about a war. We will not be the initiators, but we are ready for any war," he added, as quoted by the official Irna agency.
The country concluded an agreement in 2015 with the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (China, Russia, the U.S., France and the United Kingdom) and Germany to regulate its nuclear activities. The text provided for a relaxation of sanctions in exchange for oversight of Iranian nuclear activities.
In 2018, Trump noisily withdrew his country from the agreement during his first term and reinstated sanctions. In retaliation, Iran distanced itself from the text and accelerated its nuclear program. Iran does not seek to acquire nuclear weapons but "will have no choice but to do so" in case of an attack against the country, warned Monday Ali Larijani, a close advisor to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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