A Lebanon media outlet friendly to Hezbollah reported on the 29th (local time) that Iran will not agree to negotiations that would amount to abandoning its nuclear program, despite threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.
Al-Akhbar, the Lebanon media outlet friendly to Hezbollah, cited a source at Iran's Foreign Ministry as saying, "Iran has reached a decisive conclusion," and explained, "If the choices Trump presents are agreement or war, we will not surrender and will instead be forced to choose war, which would incur fewer losses."
The source also noted, "Iran has always been ready to pursue a balanced agreement that guarantees mutual interests and avoids war, but the United States does not want genuine negotiations and is merely trying to force a signature."
The source added, "The agreement the United States demands includes dismantling Iran's nuclear program, limiting defense capabilities, and recognizing Israel, which does not constitute a balanced agreement but rather amounts to de facto surrender."
Iran's leadership has recently continued to issue tough messages against U.S. military pressure. According to IRIB, Iran's military said it has added 1,000 strategic drones to its arsenal and declared it would "respond firmly to any invasion or attack."
Iranian parliament speaker Mohamed Baqer Ghalibaf said in a CNN interview, "The U.S. president does not want a genuine dialogue and merely seeks to impose his will on other countries," criticizing, "Trump may be able to start a war, but he cannot control how it ends."
The previous day, Ali Shamkhani, political adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, warned on X (formerly Twitter), "The notion of a limited strike is delusional," adding, "If the United States undertakes military action at any level, it will be regarded as all-out war." He added, "The response will be immediate, comprehensive, and unprecedented in scale, and every force supporting it, including Tel Aviv, will become a target."
President Trump has continued to apply pressure, repeatedly expressing a willingness to intervene after the Iranian authorities' crackdown on anti-government protests left at least several thousand dead or injured. Referring to the deployment of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln strike group to the Middle East, he stressed, "A massive fleet is heading toward Iran," and said, "Come to the negotiating table quickly and agree to a fair and equitable ban on nuclear weapons."