Iran says talks marked by ‘mistrust, suspicion’; breakthrough wasn’t expected in single round

Acknowledging the absence of a breakthrough in the latest round of negotiations with the United States, Iran on Sunday said the talks were held in an atmosphere of “mistrust and suspicion,” with no realistic expectation of reaching a comprehensive agreement in a single session.

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Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the two sides were able to arrive at an understanding on several issues, but critical differences persisted.

“We reached understanding on a number of points, but key disagreements remained on two to three major issues, and ultimately the talks did not lead to an agreement,” he said.

Baghaei described the negotiations as the longest in the past year, stretching over 24 to 25 hours of continuous engagement—an indication of both the complexity of the issues and the intensity of the discussions.

He stressed that the context of the talks made a swift resolution unlikely. “These discussions took place after 40 days of imposed war, in an atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion,” he said, adding that under such conditions, “no one expected an agreement to be reached in a single session—and no one did.”

The remarks underscore Tehran’s attempt to frame the outcome not as a failure, but as part of a broader, incremental process shaped by deep-seated distrust and recent conflict.

While no deal emerged, the acknowledgement of limited convergence on certain issues suggests that negotiations may continue, even as fundamental differences remain unresolved.