A top Iranian official pushed back on President Trump Friday, calling his recent remarks about a nuclear deal “confusing and contradictory.”
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned from the Middle East earlier Friday that the U.S. gave Iran a formal proposal for a new nuclear agreement, urging Tehran to “move quickly.”
“Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, whether directly or indirectly,” Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi wrote on the social media platform X. “In the meantime, the messaging we—and the world—continue to receive is confusing and contradictory.
“Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal,” he continued.
Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that the two countries were in “very serious negotiations.” And in recent days, the president has also signaled an openness to the Middle Eastern country developing a civilian nuclear program but has indicated that Tehran cannot have its own nuclear weapon.
Araghchi, in his Friday post, stressed Iran’s commitment to nuclear enrichment.
“Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes: a right afforded to all other [Non-Proliferation Treaty] signatories, too,” he wrote, referring to the international nuclear treaty.
Officials from Iran and the U.S. have met in recent weeks to hash out the terms of an agreement. Trump, during his first term, withdrew from a deal made by former President Obama, which offered sanction relief in exchange for nuclear limits.
In an interview that aired on Fox News Friday evening, Trump reiterated his hope for quick negotiations.
“Iran wants to trade with us, okay, if you can believe that. And I’m OK with it,” the president told host Bret Baier. “I’m using trade to settle scores and to make peace. But I’ve told Iran we make a deal.”
“There’s not plenty of time,” he added.
The Hill reached out to the White House for comment.