Iranian president: ‘Dialogue does not mean surrender’ May 19, 2026 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (X Screenshot)(X Screenshot)Iranian president: ‘Dialogue does not mean surrender’ Tweet Join Group Join WhatsApp Group Email https://worldisraelnews.com/iranian-president-dialogue-does-not-mean-surrender/ Email Print Two U.S. officials said Trump is expected to meet with his top national security team in the Situation Room on Tuesday to review military options. By Joshua Marks, JNS Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would not relinquish the “legal rights of the people and the country” even as it engages in diplomacy, after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a planned military strike at the request of Gulf leaders who urged more time for negotiations. “Dialogue does not mean surrender,” Pezeshkian wrote in a post on X on Monday, adding that the Islamic Republic would enter talks with “dignity” and “authority” while safeguarding national interests and honor. He said Iran would continue to serve its people “with logic and with all our might.” گفتوگو به معنای تسلیم نیست. جمهوری اسلامی ایران با عزت، اقتدار و حفظ حقوق ملت وارد گفتوگو میشود و به هیچ عنوان از حقوق قانونی مردم و کشور عقبنشینی نمیکند. ما با منطق و با تمام توان، تا پای جان، در خدمت مردم و حافظ منافع و عزت ایران خواهیم بود. — Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) May 18, 2026 Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official told Axios journalist Barak Ravid on Monday that the White House believes the Iranian regime’s new offer is inadequate and risks the renewal of the war. Read Trump may end war, declare victory over Iran without nuclear deal“We are really not making a lot of progress. We are at a very serious place today. The pressure is on them to be responsive in the right way,” the senior U.S. official said. “It’s time for the Iranians to throw a bit of candy out. We need some real, sturdy and granular conversation [regarding the nuclear program]. If that’s not gonna happen, we will have a conversation through bombs, which will be a shame.” Two U.S. officials said Trump is expected to meet with his top national security team in the Situation Room on Tuesday to review military options. https://twitter.com/BarakRavid/status/2056391108985270331?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2056391108985270331%7Ctwgr%5E782c7e8497f61a1aaecff0b82a0430adf8a9489b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jns.org%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Firanian-president-dialogue-does-not-mean-surrender Trump in a Monday press conference provided more details on his earlier Truth Social post announcing that a planned military strike for Tuesday had been delayed. “I was asked by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and some others if we could put it off for two or three days, a short period of time, because they think that they are getting very close to making a deal. And if we can do that where there’s no nuclear weapon going into the hands of Iran, I think and if they’re satisfied, we will be probably satisfied also,” the president told reporters. “We’ve informed Israel. We’ve informed other people in the Middle East that have been involved with us, and it’s a very positive development, but we’ll see whether or not it amounts to anything. We’ve had periods of time where we’ve had, we thought pretty much getting close to making a deal and didn’t work out, but this is a little bit different,” Trump said. Read Iran, Oman edging toward Strait of Hormuz deal amid fresh attacks on vessels“Now we were ready to go tomorrow very big and not something I wanted to do, but we have no choice because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.” REPORTER: "Can you speak a little bit about your, post on Truth Social on Iran? And what was the decision … why you didn't attack… ?" PRESIDENT TRUMP: "Well, other countries have come to me and they've said… We were getting ready to do a very major attack tomorrow. I've… pic.twitter.com/PagwcXDAAo — Fox News (@FoxNews) May 18, 2026 IranMasoud Pezeshkiannegotiations