Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said negotiations with the U.S. were “meaningless” and only resulted in renewed attacks, state media reported, with progress on ending the Middle East war stalled for months.
“So far, they have attacked us three times after talks, and this shows that they are not seeking dialogue; rather, their goal is to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA on Monday.
“With an enemy that every day resorts to assassination, sanctions, pressure and threats, and that breaks its commitments, negotiations are meaningless.”
Negotiations have effectively been at an impasse since Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz prompted the U.S. to resume military operations, and recent indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly failed to produce a breakthrough.
After the U.S. scaled back military operations in September, favoring economic pressure instead, Iran’s top diplomat said Sunday that the war would not be resolved through military action or new sanctions.
Vowing that Iran would respond with a stronger defense if attacks resumed, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “only negotiations based on justice and fairness could end the conflict.”
Iran’s economy
Iran’s economy is under historic distress, driven by a crushing combination of an ongoing regional war, a near-total U.S. naval blockade, and aggressive international sanctions. The severe economic pressure reached a critical boiling point over the weekend, resulting in the resignation of Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad on October 5, 2026.
Iran’s currency fell to a new record low last week , with traders in Tehran exchanging more than 2.5 million rials to the U.S. dollar in a stark reflection of how the war in the Middle East has steadily eroded the Iranian economy.
The latest decline came just 27 days after the rial hit its previous record low of 2.2 million to the dollar on Sept. 2. The currency has repeatedly reached new lows since the war began in February.
CBS/ AFP
