Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that any talks with the United States should not be viewed as surrender or retreat, but as an effort to secure Iran’s rights and defend national interests.

In a post on his X account on Sunday, Pezeshkian said Iran would never back down from what it considers its legitimate rights, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.

“We will never bow before the enemy,” the Iranian president 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 strongly defend national interests,” he added.

The comments came shortly after Iranian state media reported that Tehran had formally submitted its response to the latest US proposal aimed at ending what it described as the “war of aggression” against the country, which it says began on 28 February with airstrikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency said the response makes clear that any negotiations with the United States should, at this stage, focus solely on ending the conflict, while other issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, should be addressed later.

It added that the security of shipping in the Persian Gulf is also included in Iran’s response, which was delivered on Sunday to Pakistan, acting as a mediator in talks that also helped broker a ceasefire on 8 April.

News.Az