President Donald Trump’s constant flip-flopping is deepening Iranians’ distrust of Americans, Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday as peace negotiations remain stalled.
Abbas Araghchi, 63, said Iran “cannot trust the Americans at all” after Washington and Tehran rejected each other’s peace proposals earlier this week, leaving the war to drag on toward its third month.
Araghchi described Iran’s mistrust of the U.S. as “the main obstacle to any diplomatic effort” as he spoke to reporters during the BRICS summit in New Delhi.
“The most important question is the question of mistrust or the lack of trust from our side to Americans,” he said. “Another problem is the—as I said—contradictory messages, which [have] made us reluctant about the real intentions of Americans in these negotiations.”
“We are in doubt about their seriousness, but the moment we feel that they are serious and they are ready for a fair and balanced deal, we certainly proceed in the course of negotiations,” he added.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Sunday, Trump trashed the latest offer from Iranian representatives as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE” in a short Truth Social post. A day later, Tehran blasted the U.S. offer as “one-sided” and accused Trump of making “unreasonable” and “excessive demands.”
“I looked at it, and if I don’t like the first sentence, I just throw it away,” Trump said of Iran’s offer on Friday.
When asked what the first sentence was, however, the president couldn’t seem to recall, saying simply that it was “an unacceptable sentence.”
“If they have any nuclear of any form, I don’t read the rest of their letter,” he said.
Trump has repeatedly waffled on his war since launching it in February. He has made deranged threats to wipe out “a whole civilization” and “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if it failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—only to walk back those strong statements later.
The American president also pressured NATO allies to reopen the critical waterway, telling reporters in March that the U.S. “will remember” who doesn’t come to its aid.
When NATO rebuffed his calls, however, Trump quickly pivoted.
“We don’t need any help, actually,” he said.
