Iran FM cites American 'lack of trust' as obstacle in war talks

Iran's foreign minister said Friday that contradictory signals from Washington have made Tehran "reluctant about the real intentions of Americans," casting fresh doubt on prospects for ending the Iran-U.S. war, the Korea Times reported.

The standoff over uranium enrichment and deepening mutual distrust have blocked a diplomatic resolution to the war, with global energy markets on edge as Iran maintains control over the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint through which a fifth of the world's oil flowed before the conflict began.

"We are in doubt about their seriousness," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters, adding that Washington's mixed signals had "made us reluctant about the real intentions of Americans," according to the Korea Times. Araghchi said Iran would welcome Chinese diplomatic involvement in the negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump this week dismissed Iran's latest formal proposal as "garbage," deepening the impasse. Trump wants highly enriched uranium removed from Iran; Tehran maintains its nuclear program serves peaceful purposes. Russia has offered to receive Iran's enriched uranium stockpile if Iran agrees to relinquish it.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have separately agreed that the Strait of Hormuz needs to be reopened. The waterway handled roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply before the war; the United States is currently blockading Iranian ports.

In a related development, Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire by 45 days to allow broader peace negotiations to advance, with talks set to reconvene June 2-3. Israeli military forces struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, killing three paramedics near Harouf and wounding 40 people in strikes around Tyre.

A Chinese-operated vessel, the Hui Chuan, was taken into Iranian waters for documentation and compliance inspection. Separately, the United Arab Emirates is accelerating construction of a new oil pipeline designed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, expected to become operational next year. An existing UAE pipeline already moves 1.5 million barrels per day from oil fields to Fujairah port.

Yechiel Leiter, Israel's ambassador to the United States, offered a note of cautious optimism regarding the Israel-Lebanon negotiations in a social media post. "There will be ups and downs, but the potential for success is great," Leiter said.