Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian says his country has the "necessary will" to end the war with the United States and Israel depending on conditions, a possible sign the countries may be moving toward settling the conflict.
On a day when US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the coming days "will be decisive," Pezeshkian appeared to move away from Iran's hard line in recent days that it was not talking with Washington.
"We possess the necessary will to end this conflict, provided that essential conditions are met -- especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression," Pezeshkian said in a March 31 phone conversation with European Council President Antonio Costa, according to a statement from his office.
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New Executions A Sign Of Growing Repression In Iran Amid War"The solution to normalizing the situation is the cessation of their aggressive attacks," Pezeshkian added.
While some have warned Pezeshkian is not a power broker within Iran's leadership despite his title, his comments boosted markets in the United States and led to a dip in oil prices.
The United States said last week it put forward a 15-point plan that includes Iran dismantling its nuclear facilities, limiting its missile capabilities, and ending its support for regional proxy forces.
Senior Iranian officials have denied Tehran is in negotiations with Washington, but Iran said on March 25 that it was reviewing a 15-point US proposal and had put forward what it said were five conditions that needed to be met in order for the conflict to end.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with broadcaster Al Jazeera on March 31 that he continues to receive messages from US special envoy Steve Witkoff but that does not mean "negotiations" are taking place between Tehran and Washington.
The comments by Iran's top diplomat are the latest in a series of mixed messages from both sides about efforts to end the conflict, which began on February 28.
US President Donald Trump has said several time in recent days that a deal to end the war was nearing. At the same time, US forces continue to build in the Middle East.
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Trump Renews Warning To Iran: Reach Deal Soon Or Face Energy Sector AttacksHegseth stressed during a briefing on the military operation that has decimated Iran's military and nuclear capabilities, that he would prefer to end the war with a peace deal.
"We don't want to have to do more militarily than we have to. But I didn't mean it flippantly when I said, in the meantime, we'll negotiate with bombs," Hegseth said.
Further buoying hopes of a settlement, China and Pakistan vowed on March 31 to "strengthen strategic communication and coordination" as they seek to help broker a deal.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing and reiterated their call for Iran and the United States to work toward ending the war, which has killed thousands across at least nine countries and is costing economies around the world billions of dollars a day.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said both sides agreed to pursue de-escalation and that the two countries will "jointly advocate for peace and justice, and make new efforts to promote reconciliation and prevent conflict."
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Deploying Forces To Middle East 'Sends Message' To Iran, Says Ex-US GeneralPolitical analyst Anton Penkovsky said contacts between Iran and the United States are likely continuing despite public denials by Tehran.
Speaking to Current Time, Penkovsky said Iran's strategy of denial is "purely for domestic political reasons, so as not to appear weak to its internal audience, especially given that social tensions in Iran remain quite high."
He also cautioned that signs of progress shouldn't obscure the likelihood that major obstacles remain on the path to peace.
"The first is the scope of restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, including the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and the transfer of all nuclear materials to the United States -- a position on which the United States has insisted and, apparently, is not willing to make concessions or compromises," Penkovsky said.
"For Iran, this is a matter of sovereignty and strategic deterrence against its enemies in the region."
Retired US Army General Joseph L. Votel -- who led US Central Command from 2016 to 2019 -- told RFE/RL in an interview that Iran is using tactical delay as a strategy in talks to end US and Israeli strikes.
He says the deployment of troops to the Middle East sends a message' to Iran.
"You have to recognize, first and foremost, that part of the purpose of those deployments is a messaging to the Iranians," Votel said.
"This is also about making sure we can provide the maximum amount of options for our military leaders and our civilian leaders, so that, if the president decides something, he has an array of forces from which his military commanders can devise courses of action and approaches that he might approve."