Explainer: Why doesn't Iran trust the US?

TEHRAN - Iran's Tehran Times reported Tuesday that Tehran views U.S. calls for negotiations as a deceptive scheme, stressing that it "does not trust these messages," even as Washington claims progress in talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the two sides had held "very good and productive conversations," but Iran denied any talks had taken place.

The conflicting claims highlight the deep mistrust defining U.S.-Iran relations, after months of indirect negotiations that have repeatedly collapsed due to Washington.

Despite three rounds of talks, the latest cycle ended in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 that ignited the current war.

Why conflicting claims?

Trump claimed Monday there were "major points of agreement," saying Iran "wants to make a deal" and "wants peace," while indicating any agreement would require Tehran to give up its nuclear capabilities entirely.

"I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Iran's state media has denied that Iran has engaged in any peace talks with the United States. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said no negotiations have occurred with the United States, and that "fake news" has been used to "manipulate" the oil markets.

Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported that there had been no direct or indirect contact with Trump, and the foreign ministry said Trump's remarks were "part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time" for military plans.

The current impasse is the latest chapter in a pattern of negotiations that have produced claims of progress followed by sudden breakdowns.

High-level indirect talks, mediated by Oman, began in April 2025 in Muscat with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Multiple rounds followed through June 13, 2025, before collapsing when Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites.

Talks resumed in February 2026. Meetings were held in Oman and later in Geneva, where mediators described the third round on Feb. 26 as the "most intense" so far, with "significant progress" and plans for technical follow-ups in Vienna.

Less than 48 hours later, on Feb. 28, the United States and Israel carried out coordinated strikes that sparked the current war.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, the United States, on January. 20, 2026. (Xinhua Photo)

Why no trust?

For Tehran, the breakdowns are not isolated but a part of a longer pattern.

In Trump's first term, he withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on May 8, 2018, even though international inspectors confirmed Iran was in full compliance. Washington then reimposed sweeping sanctions under a "maximum pressure" campaign.

Tensions escalated further in early 2020, after the U.S. assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, an action Iran viewed as an act of war that prompted Tehran to abandon JCPOA limits on uranium enrichment.

The 2026 cycle repeated the sequence. After three rounds of talks that mediators called productive, the United States and Israel struck anyway. Iranian leaders say such episodes prove that Washington cannot be trusted to honor commitments when it believes it holds military superiority.

"Trump is fairly locked into two goals: Complete, permanent and verifiable nuclear disarmament with very little if any Iranian enrichment, and a reopening of Hormuz. I don't sense Iran is ready to agree to either demand," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon told Xinhua.

Indeed, Trump demands that Iran dismantle its nuclear program, which Washington believes is meant to build nuclear weapons, but Iran maintains that it is for peaceful purposes.

Other analysts have expressed doubt that Iran is ready to come to the negotiation table, in the belief that Iran has prepared itself for months to weather the storm.