Iran says lack of trust, contradictory US positions, Israeli attacks on Lebanon are delaying diplomacy to end war

'The other ‌party ‌is constantly changing its ‌views, it is natural that ⁠this ⁠situation will prolong negotiations,' said Iran Foreign ⁠Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei

Iran Foreign ⁠Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday explained that lack of trust, Washington's contradictory positions and Israel's attacks on Lebanon are delaying the diplomatic process to end the US-Israel led military campaign against Iran. 

"Negotiations have started amid ⁠severe ‌suspicion and mistrust, and the exchange of ‌messages is taking ⁠place in this atmosphere," Baghaei said.

"The other ‌party ‌is constantly changing its ‌views and putting ‌forward new or contradictory demands (...) it is natural that ⁠this ⁠situation will prolong negotiations," he said, adding that Tehran viewed Israeli actions in the region, including ​in Lebanon, as inseparable ​from the ​US.

Separately, US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Iran really wants to make a deal with the US. He claimed that the deal would ‌be a good one for Washington and its allies.

His post comes only hours after the US military said it struck Iranian military sites over the weekend and Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted a US base in response, the latest in a series of exchanges amid negotiations to end the three-month-old war.

"Iran really wants to ‌make a deal, and it will be a good one for the USA ‌and those that are with us," Trump posted on Truth Social an hour after midnight. 

Earlier last week, Adviser to Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, Mohsen Rezaei, on Saturday accused Trump of "betraying diplomacy for the third time", citing the continued naval blockade on Iran and what he termed 'excessive demands' during ongoing negotiations.

(With agency inputs)