Iran says no deal with US until Iranian rights secured, Ghalibaf warns

Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Sunday that Tehran would not accept any agreement with the United States unless it fully secures the rights of the Iranian people.

His warning came as reports emerged that Washington had sent a tougher revised proposal back to Iran, threatening to delay a deal to formally end the Middle East conflict.

What did Iran say about a deal with the US?

Iran will not approve any agreement until it is certain that Iranian rights are protected, Ghalibaf said in a video broadcast on state television Sunday.

His statement signals continued deadlock in negotiations aimed at ending the US-Iran conflict, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and halting weeks of fighting marked by sharp rhetoric and sporadic strikes.

What new terms did Trump send to Iran?

The New York Times and Axios reported Saturday that Trump had sent Iran a revised framework with "tougher" terms, though details remain unclear.

Any changes to the proposal could further delay an agreement and prolong the blockade of the Hormuz shipping lane. Tehran has not publicly responded to the new framework's specifics.

Trump said his core priorities are preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and reopening the strait. "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 Fox News on Saturday. Iran has previously disputed Trump's characterizations of the talks.

What does Iran want before nuclear talks can proceed?

Iran has said it needs the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before engaging in substantive discussions on its nuclear program. Tehran dismissed earlier Trump comments that its enriched uranium stockpile would be destroyed as "baseless," according to Iranian media. Iran has also insisted that Lebanon be included in any final agreement.

Trump struck a less urgent tone in the Fox interview, hinting at renewed military action if talks collapse. "I'm in no hurry," he said. "If we don't get what we want, we're going to end in a different way." Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth echoed that position at a defense summit in Asia on Saturday, saying Washington was "more than capable" of restarting the war.

What is the latest on ceasefire violations and strikes?

Though daily strikes across Iran and the Gulf halted after Tehran and Washington reached a temporary ceasefire in April, with talks mediated by Pakistan, sporadic fighting has continued.

US forces struck the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas earlier this week in the worst violence since the ceasefire, prompting retaliatory fire from Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guards also reported shooting down a US military drone near Iranian territorial waters, though Washington has not confirmed the incident.

Diplomacy has continued despite the violence, with Trump under pressure to secure a deal that would lift competing US and Iranian blockades around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies.

After Trump said Iran would charge "no tolls" on ships passing through the strait under any deal, Iranian news agency Fars cited sources saying "no such clause" existed. Iran's ISNA news agency quoted a lawmaker saying a plan to implement Iranian management and sovereignty over the strait would soon go before parliament.

What is happening on the Lebanon front?

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Sunday that troops had crossed the Litani river and raised the Israeli flag over the strategic medieval fortress of Beaufort in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military also issued a sweeping evacuation order to areas south of the Zahrani River, roughly 40 kilometers from the border, warning it was targeting Hezbollah. One Israeli soldier was killed the previous day in a Hezbollah drone strike, the military said.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of pursuing a "scorched-earth policy and collective punishment" and called for a swift ceasefire. A truce between Israel and Hezbollah formally began April 17 but has never been fully observed, with both sides accusing each other of violations. Israel and Lebanon began direct talks in April, with a fourth round expected in the coming week.