DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday opened the door to new negotiations with the United States over the country’s nuclear deal. Rapidly advancing nuclear programHe told his country’s civilian government that “no harm” would come if it engaged in combat with the “enemy.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks drew a clear red line at any negotiations taking place under a reformist government. President Massoud Pezechkian And he renewed his warning that Washington cannot be trusted.
But his comments are similar to those made during Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with the world, which saw Iran significantly scale back its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. But it’s unclear how much action Pezeshkian will take given rising tensions across the Middle East over the country’s nuclear program. The war between Israel and Hamas And the United States is preparing for the presidential election in November.
“This does not mean that in certain circumstances we cannot engage in dialogue with the same enemies,” Khamenei said, according to a transcript on his official website. “There is no harm in that, but we should not get our hopes up about them.”
Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, also warned Pezechkian’s cabinet not to “trust the enemy.”
Khamenei, 85, has at times encouraged and at other times rejected talks with Washington since then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal in 2018.
In recent years, Iran and the United States have held indirect talks mediated by Oman and Qatar, which are the U.S.’s Middle East negotiating partners on Iran. Khamenei’s comments came a day after the Qatari prime minister visited the country.
Asked for comment, the US State Department told The Associated Press: “We judge Iran’s leaders by their actions, not their words.”
“We have long said that we ultimately view diplomacy as the best way to achieve an effective and sustainable solution regarding Iran’s nuclear program,” the statement said. “However, given Iran’s escalation on all fronts, including its nuclear program and its failure to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, we are currently far from such a solution.”
“If Iran wants to demonstrate seriousness and a new approach, it should stop escalating nuclear war and begin meaningful cooperation with the IAEA,” the report said.
Since the collapse of the nuclear deal, Iran has abandoned all of the restrictions the deal imposed on its nuclear program and is enriching uranium to 60% purity, close to weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Security cameras installed by the IAEA have been jammed, and Iran has barred access to some of them. The most experienced inspector from the Vienna-based agencyIranian officials have also increasingly threatened to move forward with developing nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and Israel have reached new heights with the Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Tehran has launched an unprecedented Drone and missile attacks on Israel A long-running shadow war between the two countries culminated in an Israeli attack in April. Iranian Consulate in Syria Two Iranian generals and others were killed.
The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran has prompted Iran to warn of retaliation against Israel.
Pezeshkian, a former lawmaker who was elected after hardline President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in May, campaigned on a pledge to re-enter negotiations with the West. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s comments could give him a political pretext to do so. Pezeshkian’s new foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, was deeply involved in negotiating the 2015 agreement.
“A tactical retreat may sometimes be necessary after all that is possible has been done, but one should not abandon goals and opinions at the first sign of difficulty,” Khamenei also said on Tuesday, his second mention of a “tactical retreat” in recent days amid rising tensions.
But Iran is not the only country facing a new presidential election. The US will hold its presidential election on November 5, with Vice President Kamala Harris and President Trump as the front-runners. Iran is concerned about President Trump’s return to power.
The U.S. has been engaging in indirect negotiations with Iran under President Joe Biden, but it is unclear how that would continue under a Harris administration if it takes office. In her speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, Harris said she would “not hesitate to take any action necessary to defend our troops and interests from Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”
Risk intelligence firm RANE Network said a Harris victory “would increase the likelihood of an agreement as the war between Israel and Hamas comes to an end.”
“Once negotiations begin, Iran is likely to demand further protections regarding a possible U.S. withdrawal from the new agreement, following the U.S.’s withdrawal from the previous agreement in 2018,” RANE said in an analysis on Tuesday.
“Due to concerns about the sustainability of the new deal, Iran is unlikely to offer many nuclear concessions, such as dismantling its more advanced centrifuges, as it wants to be able to restart its nuclear program as soon as possible if the United States withdraws from the new deal again.”
Tuesday’s meeting between Khamenei and Pezeshkian’s cabinet was also attended by former Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, who helped Iran reach the 2015 deal. After the meeting, Zarif said in an online message that he would continue to serve as vice president in Pezeshkian’s government, despite having formally resigned earlier over the makeup of his cabinet.
___
Associated Press writer Nasser Karimi contributed to this report from Tehran, Iran.