TEHRAN: Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran will not agree to any deal with the United States that fails to secure the rights of Iranians.
"We will not approve any agreement until we are certain that the rights of the Iranian people have been upheld," Ghalibaf said, in a video broadcast on state television.
He added that Iranian negotiators "neither trust the enemy's words nor its promises."
His remarks came as Iran and Washington continue to exchange proposals over a framework for a deal to end the war that broke out on February 28, engulfing the Middle East.
On Saturday, The New York Times and Axios media outlets reported that US President Donald Trump had sent back to Tehran a new framework to be considered by Iran with "tougher" terms.
It was not immediately clear what that entailed.
Iran views sanction relief and the release of its assets frozen in banks abroad as among its key rights to be ensured under any deal with the United States.
Since the outbreak of the war, Iran has kept tight control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy conduit, and sees oversight of shipping through the waterway as within its rights.
Any tweaks to the proposal could further delay an agreement to formally end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz after weeks of fraught negotiations marked by sharp rhetoric and occasional flare-ups of violence.
Trump has said his priorities include stopping Iran from any nuclear weapon development and re-opening the blockaded Hormuz shipping lane.
"The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They've agreed to that, and it was very interesting," he told his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an interview broadcast on her Fox News program on Saturday night.
But Tehran has previously cast doubt on Trump's assertions and the sides remain far apart on key issues.
Iran has said it needs the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before engaging in substantive talks on its nuclear program, dismissing earlier Trump comments that its enriched uranium stockpile would be destroyed as "baseless", according to Iranian media.
Tehran has also insisted that Lebanon be included in any deal, despite ongoing fighting, with Beirut accusing Israel of a "scorched-earth policy" as it expands operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
After previously signalling a deal was close, Trump struck a less urgent tone, hinting at renewed military action in the Fox interview.
"I'm in no hurry," he said. "If we don't get what we want, we're going to end in a different way."