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Iran’s chief negotiator warned yesterday the United States is not to be trusted, saying Tehran would not agree to any deal with Washington unless it fully secures Iranian rights.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s remarks came as reports emerged that US President Donald Trump had sent a tougher peace proposal back to Iran and underlined the rift that the parties still need to close.

Any further tweaks to the draft could further delay an agreement to formally end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz after weeks of fraught negotiations marked by sharp rhetoric and occasional flare-ups of violence.

The New York Times and Axios reported on Saturday that Trump had sent back a “tougher” new framework to be considered by Iran, though details remain unclear.

Trump has said his priorities include stopping Iran from any nuclear weapon development and re-opening the Hormuz shipping lane, over which Iran has sought to impose control since the war began.

“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 his daughter-in-law Lara Trump in an interview on her Fox News show.

“You look at what happened with Iraq. We did so bad. It was such a foolish thing what we did. We shouldn’t have been there in the first place, by the way,” Trump said, before adding, “We shouldn’t have been in Iran, but Iran has the capability.”

Tehran has previously cast doubt on Trump’s assertions and the sides remain far apart on key issues.

“We will not approve any agreement until we are certain that the rights of the Iranian people have been secured,” Ghalibaf said, in a video broadcast on state television.

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