Seoul Gazette - Talks with Iran can only succeed without threats, president says

Diplomatic efforts to end the seven-month conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, have been at an impasse since the summer.

The United States and Iran agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for ending the conflict, but Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz prompted a resumption of US military operations.

Recent indirect talks between Washington and Tehran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly failed to produce a breakthrough.

"Dialogue holds meaning and a chance of success only when based on mutual respect and mutual commitments, and when devoid of pressure and threat," Pezeshkian said at a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Turkmenistan.

"Negotiation conducted in the shadow of force is not negotiation, it is imposition and coercion," he said, adding that sanctions on Iran would affect "regional trade, connectivity, energy, and order."

Pezeshkian said on Monday that talks with the United States to end the war were worthless and only resulted in renewed attacks.

"With an enemy that everyday resorts to assassination, sanctions, pressure and threats, and that breaks its commitments, negotiations are meaningless," he said.

Washington has in recent weeks dialled back military operations in favour of economic pressure and has not struck Iran since September 1.

The United States and Israel have said the war was necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- a goal Tehran has long denied pursuing.

The focus of negotiations has since shifted to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for oil from the Gulf that has been effectively shut since the fighting.

Iran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane since the start of the war, striking vessels that attempt to transit without its authorisation.

The US has imposed its own counterblockade of Iranian ports and has also struck vessels it accuses of violating it.

- Putin, Pezeshkian meet -

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would "do everything" he could to help end the war during a meeting with Pezeshkian ahead of the summit, Russian media reported.

"We are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation," Putin said.

He added that Iran had made "real efforts to end the war" since the US-Israeli attacks started on February 28, according to Russian news agencies.

Putin also said there had been a "positive evolution" in Iran-Russia relations.

The two countries, heavily sanctioned by the West, have reinforced diplomatic and military links since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, becoming increasingly reliant on each other.

Kyiv and Western countries have accused Iran of supplying Russia with Shahed drones and short-range missiles that Moscow uses in attacks on Ukraine.

US media outlets have reported Russia has supplied data to Iran for its attacks on US targets in the Middle East.

"We are engaged in dialogue, but every time we negotiate with the United States, they attack again," Pezeshkian said at the talks with Putin, according to Iranian state media.

Tehran wanted to see a "final framework" to end the war, Pezeshkian said.

But he accused the United States of "trying to impose its policies and views on all countries".

"If the United States insists on pursuing a unilateral approach, a resolution will not be possible," he said, according to state media.

Trump told the United Nations General Assembly in September that he had to choose whether to "annihilate" Iran if it failed to make a deal.

But the US leader has since ruled out attacking Iran again before the US midterm elections on November 3, saying on Thursday that Washington was holding "productive discussions" with the Islamic republic.

The CIS was established in 1991 as a platform for dialogue among the former republics of the Soviet Union.

Some states have left -- Georgia withdrew following a 2008 war with Russia, Ukraine halted its participation after Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and Moldova left in 2023 as it sought closer ties with the European Union.

The summit comes as diplomatic efforts to resolve Russia's offensive in Ukraine also appear deadlocked, with both sides intensifying attacks.

I.Do--SG