US-Iran relations: What lies ahead?

[FearlessRoar]

Iran says its foreign policy driven by interests after Trump voices readiness to talk

Iran’s foreign policy is driven by dignity, wisdom and interest, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday, in response to US President Donald Trump saying that Washington was ready to reach out to Tehran.

“Our foreign policy has always been driven by the following principles: dignity for our country and people, wisdom and interest,” Fatemeh Mohajerani said during a press conference, when asked to react to Trump’s willingness to hold talks with his Iranian counterpart.

“Wisdom means looking behind the scenes and having correct understanding of them.”

On Tuesday, Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran that included efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

As he signed the presidential memorandum, Trump described it as tough and said he was torn on whether to make the move.

He added he was open to a deal with Iran and expressed a willingness to talk to President Masoud Pezeshkian.

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2025/02/05/iran-says-its-foreign-policy-driven-by-interests-after-trump-voices-readiness-to-talk-

 

[Bhaijaan]

The world would be a better place if Baron Trump is married to a princess of Persia, uniting these two ancient nations in an eternal bond of love.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Trump says he prefers verified nuclear peace agreement with Iran​

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran “cannot have a Nuclear Weapon,” a day after he signed an order reinstating a “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran over allegations that it was trying to develop such weapons.

“I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding: “I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper.”

He also said reports that the United States, “working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens" were “GREATLY EXAGGERATED.”

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/united-states/2025/02/05/trump-says-he-prefers-verified-nuclear-peace-agreement-with-iran

 

[BouncerGuy]

Iran Condemns New US Sanctions As 'Illegal' And 'Unjustified'

Iran on Friday condemned as "illegal" and "unjustified" new financial sanctions by the United States that target a network accused of shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian crude oil to China.

"The decision of the new US government to exert pressure on the Iranian nation by preventing Iran's legal trade with its economic partners is an illegitimate, illegal and violative measure," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement.

The US move was "categorically unjustified and contrary to international rules", Baqaei added.

The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced financial sanctions against an international network "facilitating the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars" to China.

The oil was shipped on behalf of Iran's Armed Forces General Staff and a sanctioned front company called Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars, the treasury department wrote in a statement.

The sanctions came after US President Donald Trump reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy against Iran over allegations the country is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran has slammed the reinstatement of the policy -- similar to one Trump levied against Tehran during his first term as president -- saying pursuing it would end in "failure".

Under the tough policy of sanctions during Trump's first term, which ended in 2021, Washington withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal that had imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Tehran adhered to the deal -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- until a year after Washington pulled out, but then began rolling back its commitments.

Efforts to revive the 2015 deal have since faltered.

Trump on Wednesday called for a "verified nuclear peace agreement" with Iran, adding that it "cannot have a Nuclear Weapon".

Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons.

AFP

 

[FearlessRoar]

Iranian president says US readiness for negotiations is not ‘sincere’​

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday questioned the United States’ sincerity in seeking negotiations with Tehran as crowds of people, many chanting “Death to America,” rallied across the country to mark the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

US President Donald Trump last week restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran that includes efforts to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and tightened sanctions.

Trump said however that he was open to a deal with Iran and expressed a willingness to talk to Pezeshkian.

Pezeshkian, in a televised speech at Tehran’s Azadi (Freedom) Square, said: “If the US were sincere about negotiations, why did they sanction us?”

He said Tehran “does not seek war...but will not yield to foreign pressure.”

Iranian state television showed hundreds of thousands of people turning out to mark the anniversary of the 1979 revolution in a rally the clerical establishment billed as a chance to show unity amid mounting US and Israel pressure.

“Death to America,” and “Death to Israel,” shouted demonstrators in cities and towns across Iran, repeating the ritual chant of the revolution which toppled the US-backed Shah and swept the Shi’ite Muslim clergy to power.

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2025/02/10/iranian-president-says-us-readiness-for-negotiations-is-not-sincere-

 

[sweep_shot]

Why can't Iran have nuclear weapon?

If America can have it, why can't other countries?

 

[FearlessRoar]

Iran says US blocking Iranians from basic necessities​

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that US sanctions were depriving his people of basic necessities, vowing his government would find a way to overcome the country’s challenges.

“Why are you blocking the people’s access to food, water, and medicine?” Pezeshkian said of the sanctions during a visit to the southern Bushehr province.

“They cannot block our path, we will find a way,” he added in remarks broadcast on state TV.

US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House on January 20, has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy towards Iran over concerns the country is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran has consistently denied it is seeking an atomic bomb.

His administration announced new sanctions earlier this month targeting a network accused of shipping Iranian oil to China after Trump ordered the government to adopt a campaign “to drive Iran’s export of oil to zero” and to “modify or rescind sanctions waivers”.

Trump has also recently called for striking a deal with Iran, suggesting in a Monday interview that stopping it from developing nuclear weapons could be achieved either “with bombs” or with an agreement.

“I’d love to make a deal with them without bombing them,” he told Fox News.

But Pezeshkian brushed off those remarks, saying “they do not want to talk to us, they want us to be humiliated... and we won’t be”.

“We are able to solve many of our own problems by relying on our own strengths,” he added.

Iranian officials have repeatedly echoed that sentiment since the re-imposition of the “maximum pressure” approach, which saw Washington withdraw from a landmark nuclear deal in 2018 during Trump’s first term in office.

Tehran continued to adhere to the deal -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- until a year after Washington pulled out, but then began rolling back its commitments.

On Friday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters, said there should be no new negotiations with the United States. Trump had earlier called for a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran.

“No problem will be solved by negotiating with America,” Khamenei said.

On Wednesday, Khamenei called for developing Iran’s military capabilities to “defend the country against evildoers.”

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2025/02/13/iran-says-us-blocking-iranians-from-basic-necessities

 

[FearlessRoar]

Putin agrees to help Trump broker nuclear talks with Iran: Report​

Russia has agreed to assist President Donald Trump’s administration in communicating with Iran on issues including the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program and its support for regional anti-US proxies, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation.

Trump relayed that interest directly to President Vladimir Putin in a phone call in February and top officials from his administration discussed the matter with their Russian counterparts at talks in Saudi Arabia days later, people familiar with the matter in Moscow said, declining to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither Russia nor Iran have publicly confirmed or denied the request.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to questions sent by Bloomberg that “Russia believes that the United States and Iran should resolve all problems through negotiations” and that Moscow “is ready to do everything in its power to achieve this.”

A spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, when asked if Russia had offered to mediate between Tehran and Washington, said only it was “natural” for countries to offer their assistance.

“Given the significance of these matters, it’s possible that many parties will show good will and readiness to help with various problems,” the spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said during a televised press conference Monday in Tehran. “From this perspective, it’s natural that countries will present an offer of help if it’s needed.” The ministry didn’t respond to questions from Bloomberg News.

Since taking office about six weeks ago, Trump has tried to restore relations with President Vladimir Putin, which the US severed after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As Trump seeks to broker an end to that war directly with Putin – including a Feb. 12 phone call between the two leaders – both sides have signaled they’re open to cooperating on other geopolitical interests, including trade routes and resources in the Arctic.

Top US and Russian officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, discussed Washington’s interest in Moscow helping with Iranian issues, during a Feb. 18 meeting in Riyadh, according to people with knowledge of the situation, asking not to be identified as not all details of those talks have been made public.

Russia’s Lavrov later shared details about the US meeting with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi when they met in Tehran, Araghchi said in a televised press conference after the meeting.

Trump has sent mixed signals over Iran since returning to the White House. He said he aims to return to the “maximum pressure” policy of his first term, such as reimposing sanctions and targeting its security forces, including killing a top general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). But Trump’s also said he wants to “immediately” start working on a “verified nuclear peace agreement with Iran.”

As two countries both heavily sanctioned by the US, Russia and Iran have deepened cooperation on trade and energy, as well as security, including Russia utilizing large numbers of Iranian drones in its war against Ukraine.

But it’s unclear how receptive Tehran will be to any US overture delivered via Russia. Many hardliners, who dominate Iran’s powerful institutions such as the IRGC and the judiciary, have publicly opposed engagement with Washington.

Last month, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Trump can’t be trusted – since he withdrew from an Obama-era nuclear agreement during his first term – and that Iran wouldn’t be bullied into negotiations.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who supports reviving the nuclear deal, said last week that he would set aside his personal belief in the need for US engagement and back Khamenei’s opposition to talks while Washington continues to sanction Iran’s economy.

The US has long suspected the Islamic Republic of using a decades-old civilian nuclear sector to shield a covert military dimension. Iran has repeatedly denied it wants weapons and insists its atomic work is for peaceful means including power stations that are partly financed by Russia.

The United Nation’s nuclear watchdog on Monday said the US and Iran should begin talks, and that it was holding high-level discussions with the White House on the issue. That follows its warning last week that Tehran’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade fissile material had surged more than 50 percent since Trump’s election.

Iranian officials are also under intense pressure to deliver economic relief to a population exhausted by an acute cost-of-living crisis that’s been compounded by US sanctions under both Trump and President Joe Biden’s administration.

Iran is also locked in a bitter shadow war with top US ally Israel and has vowed to keep fighting despite Israel having severely weakened Tehran’s key proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups are designated terrorist organizations by the US and other countries.

https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2025/03/04/kremlin-urges-us-iran-talks-says-russia-ready-to-mediate

 

[FearlessRoar]

Trump says he sent letter to Iran leader to negotiate nuclear deal​

U.S. President Donald Trump said he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and sent a letter to its leadership on Thursday saying he hoped they would agree to talk.

"I said I hope you're going to negotiate, because it's going to be a lot better for Iran," Trump said in the interview with Fox Business Network broadcast Friday.

"I think they want to get that letter. The other alternative is we have to do something, because you can't let another nuclear weapon."

The letter appeared to have been addressed to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The White House did not immediately respond to a request about that.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov discussed international efforts to resolve the situation around Iran's nuclear program with Iranian ambassador Kazem Jalali, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-says-he-sent-letter-iran-leader-negotiate-nuclear-deal-2025-03-07/

 

[Cricket Warrior]

High stakes as Iran nuclear issue reaches crunch moment

Almost a decade since world powers sealed a historic deal to limit the Iranian nuclear programme, this is a crunch moment for Iran and the international community.

The country is now closer than ever to being able to make a nuclear bomb.

And the agreement - designed to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon - expires later this year.

"It's a real fork in the road moment," says Dr Sanam Vakil of the London-based think tank Chatham House. "Without meaningful and successful diplomacy we could see Iran weaponise or we could see a military strike against the Islamic Republic."

The deal, painstakingly negotiated over nearly two years under Barack Obama's presidency, imposed restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities in return for relief from sanctions that crippled the country's economy.

But after Donald Trump pulled out of the agreement in 2018 during his first presidency and reinstated US sanctions, Iran gradually stopped complying with its commitments.

It has accelerated its enrichment of uranium - used to make reactor fuel but also potentially nuclear bombs - to close to weapons-grade.

Experts say it would now take Iran less than a week to enrich enough material to make a single nuclear weapon.

Hence a flurry of urgent diplomatic activity by the US and the five other parties to the deal – the UK, China, France, Germany and Russia.

High stakes as China hosts Iran and Russia for nuclear talks

The meeting comes as a deal to limit Iran's nuclear programme expires later this year.

www.bbc.com

 

[The Bald Eagle]

Iran says it responded to Trump's nuclear talks letter, voices readiness for indirect negotiations

Iran has sent a response to a letter from US President Donald Trump that called for nuclear talks and warned of possible military action if it refuses, its foreign minister said.

"This official response includes a letter in which our position regarding the current situation and Mr Trump's letter has been fully explained to the other party," Abbas Araghchi told the official IRNA news agency on Thursday.

He added that the letter was delivered to Oman, which has served as an intermediary in the past in the absence of US-Iranian diplomatic relations.

Trump, who in 2018 pulled the United States out of an agreement to relieve sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme, now says he is open to diplomatic talks.

The US president revealed at the start of March that he had sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

At the same time, Trump has pushed ahead with his "maximum pressure" programme of additional sanctions on Tehran and the threat of military action if it refuses to negotiate.

Araghchi reiterated Iran's opposition to direct talks with the US amid Trump's "maximum pressure campaign."

"Our policy remains not to negotiate directly (with Washington) under 'maximum pressure' and the threat of military action, but indirect negotiations, such as those that took place in the past, can continue," Araghchi said.

Intermediaries

Iran and the United States have not had official diplomatic relations since 1980.

However, the two countries have engaged indirectly via the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which represents US interests in Iran.

Oman has also played the role of mediator in the past, as has Qatar, to a lesser extent.

Trump's letter was delivered to Iran by the United Arab Emirates.

Iran agreed to the deal curbing its nuclear programme in 2015 after negotiations with major powers, including the United States and China.

Western governments have for decades suspected that Tehran is pursuing a nuclear weapons capability, a charge that Iran denies, insisting that the programme is solely for civilian purposes.

Iran continued to respect the deal for a year after Trump pulled out, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, before rolling back its commitments.

The US decision to withdraw was driven in part by Iran's ballistic missile programme, which was not covered by the deal and which Washington perceived as a threat.

Source: TRT World

 

[BouncerGuy]

Iran says deal can be reached if US shows goodwill

Iran’s top diplomat said Tuesday he believed a new nuclear deal could be agreed with the United States provided Tehran’s longtime foe shows sufficient goodwill in talks to begin in Oman on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran’s principal aim remained the lifting of sweeping US sanctions. Their reimposition by President Donald Trump in 2018 has dealt a heavy blow to the Iranian economy.

Trump made the surprise announcement that his administration would open talks with Iran during a White House meeting on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country is an arch foe of Tehran.

Trump said the talks would be “direct” but Araghchi insisted his negotiations with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff on Saturday would be “indirect.”

“We will not accept any other form of negotiation,” Araghchi told official media. “The format of the negotiations... is not the most important thing in my view. What really counts is the effectiveness or otherwise of the talks.

“If the other side shows enough of the necessary willingess, a deal can be found... The ball is in America’s court.”

Speaking Monday in the Oval Office, Trump said he was hopeful of reaching a deal with Tehran, but warned that the Islamic republic would be in “great danger” if the talks failed.

“We’re dealing with the Iranians, we have a very big meeting on Saturday and we’re dealing with them directly,” Trump told reporters.

Trump’s announcement came after Iran dismissed direct negotiations on a new deal to curb the country’s nuclear activities, calling the idea pointless.

The US president pulled out of the last deal in 2018, during his first presidency, and there has been widespread speculation that Israel, possibly with US help, might attack Iranian facilities if no new agreement is reached.

Trump issued a stern warning to Tehran, however.

“I think if the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran’s going to be in great danger, and I hate to say it, great danger, because they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

In an interview with US network NBC late last month. Trump went further. “If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” he said.

China and Russia held consultations with Iran in Moscow on Tuesday, after which the Kremlin welcomed the planned talks.

Key Iranian ally Russia welcomed the prospect of negotiations for a new nuclear accord to replace the deal with major powers that was unilaterally abandoned by Trump in 2018.

“We know that certain contacts — direct and indirect — are planned in Oman. And, of course, this can only be welcomed because it can lead to de-escalation of tensions around Iran,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Moscow “absolutely” supported the initiative.

China called on the United States to “stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure” after Trump threatened Iran with bombing if it fails to agree a deal.

“As the country that unilaterally withdrew from the comprehensive agreement on the Iran nuclear issue and caused the current situation, the United States should demonstrate political sincerity (and)... mutual respect,” its foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

Washington should “participate in dialogue and consultation, and at the same time stop its wrong practice of using force to exert extreme pressure,” Lin added.

The Israeli prime minister, whose government has also threatened military action against Iran to prevent it developing a nuclear weapon, held talks with Witkoff as well as Trump on Monday.

Netanyahu was a bitter opponent of the 2015 agreement between Iran and Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States which Trump later abandoned.

That deal saw Iran receive relief from international sanctions in return for restrictions on its nuclear activities overseen by the UN watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Trump’s withdrawal from the deal was followed by an Iranian decision one year later to stop complying with its own obligations under the deal.

The result has been that Iran has built up large stocks of highly enriched uranium that leave it a short step from weapons grade.

In its latest quarterly report in February, the IAEA said Iran had an estimated 274.8 kilograms (605 pounds) of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent. Weapons grade is around 90 percent.

SOURCE: https://www.arabnews.com/node/2596308/middle-east