Iran insists peace talks should prioritize ending the war and lifting sanctions, while the United States maintains that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains its top priority, with both sides reporting limited progress in ongoing negotiations on Friday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that peace negotiations between Iran and the United States are not close to an agreement, emphasizing that significant differences remain between the two sides.
Baghaei emphasized that talks should aim to end hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, adding that Iran's nuclear program is not on the agenda at this stage.
In his remarks to U.S. media outlets, Baghaei said that Iran has endured paralyzing sanctions from the United States for over five decades -- imposed under various pretexts, primarily the alleged "Iranian nuclear threat." He denied that Iran has ever posed a nuclear threat to any country in the region or globally, stressing that Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful and that claims suggesting Tehran is nearing nuclear weapons capability are "an appalling lie."
Baghaei outlined Iran's core demands: an end to U.S. criminal acts against the Iranian people, the full lifting of sanctions, the unfreezing of Iranian assets held abroad, and the termination of the U.S.-enforced maritime blockade, which he described as a blatant violation of international law.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in New York on Friday that the Iranians are "never going to have a nuclear weapon" and the conflict will "be over with soon."
According to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter, Trump convened a meeting of his senior national security team earlier that morning to discuss potential military options regarding Iran. Sources indicated that, absent a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough, Trump is seriously considering authorizing new strikes against Iranian targets.
During the meeting, Trump received updates on the status of negotiations and reviewed contingency plans should talks collapse, according to reports.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday in Helsingborg, Sweden, that talks with Iran had made "slight progress," but cautioned that substantial work remains.
He affirmed Trump's willingness to reach a deal, while reiterating that U.S. priorities are clear: Iran must not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons, and critical issues -- including the disposition of highly enriched uranium -- must be addressed.
Rubio also confirmed that the United States continues to coordinate closely with Pakistan.
Iran, the United States and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting that started with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
Following the truce, Iranian and U.S. delegations held one round of peace talks in Pakistan's Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.
Over the past weeks, the two sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistani mediation.
Iran says peace talks not close to agreement, US says 'slight progress' made in Iran talks
