Masoud Pezeshkian Says Talks With United States Defend Iran’s Rights, Not Surrender

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said talks with the United States aim to defend Iran’s rights, “not surrender,” in a statement carried by state-run IRNA news agency on Sunday.

“Iran says talks with US aim to defend its rights, 'not surrender' Iran 'will never bow before the enemy,' says President Masoud Pezeshkian Serdar Dincel 10 May 2026•Update: 10 May 2026 ISTANBUL Talks with the United States aim to defend Iran’s rights, “not surrender,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday”

Anadolu Ajansı

Pezeshkian said, “If there is any talk of dialogue or negotiation, it does not mean surrender or backing down,” but rather the goal is to secure the rights of the Iranian nation and defend national interests.

Anadolu Ajansı

The Anadolu Ajansı report linked the renewed diplomacy to regional tensions that escalated after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel as well as US allies in the Gulf, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

An April 8 ceasefire took effect through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement, and the truce was later extended by US President Donald Trump without a set deadline.

In the same context, Pezeshkian vowed during a meeting of the task force for reconstruction of damage caused during the US-Israeli war that, “Iran “will never bow before the enemy,”.”

Mehr News Agency reported that Pezeshkian, speaking in a session on Sunday, called on “noble people of the country” to thwart plots and conspiracies waged by enemies against Iran’s economy.

He emphasized maximizing the use of people’s capacities through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), benefactors, religious assemblies, and social groups, and he laid out three main pillars of “people's participation in economic savings,” “management and adjustment of public expectations in the conditions of economic war,” and “attracting investment and people's participation for the development of the country.”

BBC

Mehr also said Pezeshkian described addressing vulnerable strata as the main economic mission of the administration and said providing psychological support and restoring peace of mind for affected families is the government’s top priority during reconstruction and compensation efforts.

In the same remarks, he pointed to talks between Iran and the united States and said, “Talks or negotiations [with the US] do not mean surrender or backing down.”

Mehr further tied the administration’s stance to the “recent US-Israeli attacks on Iran's infrastructures,” saying Pezeshkian underlined that the enemy sought to destroy Iran’s economy by targeting leading industries during the Ramadan War but that “the people's presence and the government's planning foiled those plots.”

PressTV said Pezeshkian posted on his X account on Sunday that any negotiation with the United States is neither surrender nor retreat, but rather a determined effort to secure the nation’s rights and defend national interests.

PressTV quoted Pezeshkian saying, “We will never bow before the enemy,” and added that he emphasized, “If there is any talk of dialogue or negotiation, it does not mean surrender or backing down.”

PressTV reported that state media said Iran officially submitted its response to the latest US proposal to end the war of aggression against the country, which began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The report said Iran’s IRNA news agency stated the response made clear that negotiations between Iran and the US should focus on efforts to end the war at this stage, while other issues, including Iran's nuclear program, should be discussed later on.

PressTV also said Iran presented the security of shipping in the Persian Gulf in its response delivered Sunday to Pakistan, the mediator in talks that brokered a ceasefire on April 8, and it added that Tehran asserted it had no intention of reopening the Strait of Hormuz as long as the blockade on Iranian vessels and ports remains in place.