Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has taken a significant diplomatic step by instructing his foreign minister to pursue "fair and equitable negotiations" with the United States. This announcement on Tuesday marks the first clear indication from Tehran that it is willing to engage in talks with Washington, despite ongoing high tensions following Iran's violent crackdown on nationwide protests last month.
A Major Policy Shift for Iran's Leadership
The decision represents a substantial turn for the reformist president, who had previously warned Iranians that the country's turmoil was spiralling beyond his control. More significantly, it signals that President Pezeshkian has secured crucial backing from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for these negotiations. The 86-year-old cleric had previously dismissed such talks, making this development particularly noteworthy in Iranian political circles.
Diplomatic Moves Behind the Scenes
Turkey has reportedly been working discreetly to facilitate these talks, potentially hosting them later this week as US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff travels through the region. However, substantial obstacles remain before any agreement can be reached. President Donald Trump has explicitly included Iran's nuclear programme in his list of demands for any negotiations, having previously ordered the bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during Israel's 12-day war against Iran in June.
Writing on social media platform X in both English and Farsi, President Pezeshkian explained that his decision followed "requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations." He emphasised specific conditions, stating: "I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists — one free from threats and unreasonable expectations — to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency."
Nuclear Issues at the Heart of Discussions
According to Ali Shamkhani, a top security adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei who spoke to the pan-Arab satellite channel Al Mayadeen, any talks would focus exclusively on nuclear matters. Shamkhani, who wore his naval uniform during the interview, suggested negotiations would likely begin indirectly before potentially progressing to direct talks if progress appeared achievable.
Uranium Enrichment Remains Contentious
The issue of uranium enrichment presents a major stumbling block. Iran had been enriching uranium to 60% purity—just a technical step away from weapons-grade levels—making it the only non-nuclear-armed country worldwide to reach this threshold according to International Atomic Energy Agency reports. Shamkhani firmly rejected suggestions that Russia might take Iran's enriched uranium, as occurred under the 2015 nuclear deal, stating there was "no reason" for such an arrangement.
He addressed concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions directly: "Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, will not seek a nuclear weapon and will never stockpile nuclear weapons, but the other side must pay a price in return for this." Regarding the bombed nuclear sites, Shamkhani revealed that "the quantity of enriched uranium remains unknown, because part of the stockpile is under rubble, and there is no initiative yet to extract it, as it is extremely dangerous." Iran has continued to refuse IAEA inspection requests for these damaged facilities.
Regional Diplomacy and Opposition
As diplomatic efforts intensify, US envoy Steve Witkoff is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and security officials on Tuesday. Israel is expected to demand that any agreement with Iran includes removing enriched uranium from the country, halting uranium enrichment, limiting ballistic missile development, and ending support for Tehran's regional proxies.
President Trump addressed the situation from the Oval Office on Monday, stating: "We have talks going on with Iran, we'll see how it all works out." When questioned about potential military action thresholds, he declined to elaborate but expressed hope for a negotiated settlement: "I'd like to see a deal negotiated. Right now, we're talking to them, we're talking to Iran, and if we could work something out, that'd be great. And if we can't, probably bad things would happen."
Significant Skepticism from Former Officials
Mike Pompeo, who served as CIA director and secretary of state during Trump's first term and maintains a hardline stance on Iran, expressed profound skepticism about the prospects for success. Speaking at Dubai's World Governments Summit, Pompeo stated it was "unimaginable that there can be a deal" and added: "I think they may come away with some set of understandings. But to think that there's a long-term solution that actually provides stability and peace to this region while the ayatollah is still in power is something I pray for but find unimaginable."
The United States has yet to officially acknowledge that these talks will proceed. Meanwhile, a semiofficial Iranian news agency reported—then inexplicably deleted—that President Pezeshkian had issued his negotiation instructions to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who previously held multiple discussion rounds with envoy Witkoff before the June conflict.
