Iran Rejects Further Talks with Washington over War Proposal

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian told Al Jazeera that his country no longer trusts negotiations with the United States after previous rounds of talks were followed by attacks and sanctions.

Pezeshkian said Iran awaits a response to its latest proposal to end the war, which would involve lifting US naval blockade of Iranian ports, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales, releasing $12 billion in frozen assets, and observing a ceasefire covering the region, including Lebanon and Yemen.

In exchange, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas passed before the war. The negotiations are based on the previous memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached by the two sides in June, and the US must clarify its position on that agreement, which lapsed last month.

Pezeshkian denied Iran was responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, saying the US had 'closed the routes before us.' He described the closure as a 'natural response when routes are cut off to Iran.'