Trump-Iran newest: Iranian president backs nuclear talks – however provided that they’re ‘free from threats’ | EUROtoday

When an authoritarian regime can not punish the forces that uncovered its weak point, it punishes the residents who remind it of that humiliation as a substitute, writes Hossein Dabbagh:

The Middle East doesn’t want one other confrontation between the US and Iran, and Tehran ought to attain a nuclear cope with Washington, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, stated at the moment.

Speaking at a panel on the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Gargash stated the area had already endured a sequence of “calamitous confrontations” and warned in opposition to additional escalation.

“I don’t think we need another one, but I would like to see direct Iranian-American negotiations leading to understandings so that we don’t face these issues every other day,” he stated.

His feedback got here as Iran and the United States stated they might resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard aerospace commanders informed lawmakers on Monday that the nation’s “war room” is energetic and its forces are prepared to reply instantly to any hostile motion, in line with a parliamentary spokesman.

Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for parliament’s nationwide safety and international coverage committee, stated a senior commander briefed the panel on regional developments, army deployments and the broader safety scenario.

The commander stated Iran has in depth intelligence protection of its adversaries and is carefully monitoring their actions, with operational plans in place for any potential confrontation.

The briefing warned that any US assault would set off a wider regional battle, which the commander described as “the greatest advantage for us,” Rezaei stated, including that US army and financial pursuits throughout the area are inside Iran’s operational vary.

Commanders additionally cited Iran’s efficiency throughout a latest 12-day battle, claiming its forces penetrated Israel’s missile defence methods with successful fee of greater than 50%. They stated Iran’s offensive and missile capabilities have since improved and exceed what has been publicly disclosed.

Rezaei stated the briefing concluded that any hostile act could be met with a “decisive, crushing and regret-inducing” response, in step with orders from the Supreme Leader.

Officials from a number of regional nations, together with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt, are anticipated to attend a gathering in Istanbul on Friday, the place Iran’s international minister Abbas Araghchi is ready to fulfill US envoy Steve Witkoff, Reuters reported, citing a senior regional diplomat.

Axios earlier reported that the Araghchi–Witkoff assembly would happen as a part of efforts to discover a possible nuclear deal, a report later confirmed by Reuters citing a senior Iranian official.

Iran’s president has stated he has directed his international minister to “pursue truthful and equitable negotiations” in his meeting with Trump’s envoy.

“The president has been calling for them to make a deal. The meeting is to hear what they have to say,” a US official informed Reuters.

Britain on Monday imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Iranian officers and a state safety physique, focusing on these it says enabled violent crackdowns on latest peaceable protests.

The international workplace introduced sanctions on ten people and one organisation, the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA), for “their role in recent brutality against protesters”.

The measures impose an asset freeze, a director disqualification sanction, and a journey ban on these designated.

“The Iranian people have shown extreme courage in the face of brutality and repression over recent weeks simply for exercising their right to peaceful protest,” foreign minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement.

Iran’s president says he has directed his foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” in his meeting with Trump’s envoy.

Writing on X, Masoud Pezeshkian said in English and Farsi that the decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations.”

“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,” he said.

The comments mark a major turn for Pezeshkian, who has warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control.

It also signals that the president received support from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the talks, something that the 86-year-old cleric had previously dismissed.

Iran’s leadership fears that a US military strike could shatter its grip on power by driving an already furious public back onto the streets, following last month’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, according to six current and former officials.

In high-level meetings, officials warned supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that public anger has reached a point where fear is no longer a deterrent, and that even a limited US strike could embolden protesters and inflict lasting damage on the political system.

“An attack combined with demonstrations by angry people could lead to a collapse (of the ruling system). That is the main concern among the top officials and that is what our enemies want,” said one official told Reuters.

Another former senior official said the mood in the country had shifted since the crackdown. “People are extremely angry. The wall of fear has collapsed,” he stated.

Officials said many Iranians were prepared to confront security forces again, raising concerns that foreign pressure combined with renewed protests could trigger widespread unrest or even collapse.

While the streets remain quiet for now, insiders say grievances over repression, economic decline and corruption continue to simmer.

Iran is willing to shut down or suspend its nuclear programme, a major concession to calm the situation with the US, two officials told the New York Times.

The unnamed officials said envoy Steve Witkoff would meet with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and the two are communicating directly through text messages.

But Iran would still prefer a proposal that the US made last year, to create a regional consortium to produce nuclear power, over shutting down its nuclear programme.

The officials said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, had recently met Russian president Vladimir Putin to deliver a message from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Iran could agree to ship its enriched uranium to Russia, as it did under the 2015 agreement.

When asked about it, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, said on Monday that “the topic has long been on the agenda,” adding that “Russia continues its efforts and contacts with all interested parties.”

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for energy generation, not weapons, and Mr Araghchi has said the country remains open to negotiations.

“We have never lost the opportunity to get the rights of Iranian people through diplomacy,” he told foreign ministry staff in a video shared on Monday on social media.

US president Donald Trump said Monday that talks with Iran were ongoing amid high tensions.

“We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones – the biggest and the best – and we have talks going on with Iran and we’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“If we can work something out, that would be great and if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.

“I’d like to see a deal negotiated. I don’t know that that’s going to happen,” he added.

An Iranian protester who went missing earlier last month has been found dead in the cold storage of a cemetery, according to Iran International.

Reza Bahmani Alijanvand, 34, was allegedly shot dead by security forces, with bullets hitting his lower back and abdomen, it reported, citing sources.

His family searched hospitals, police stations and prisons across Isfahan province for five days before finding his body in cold storage at Bagh-e Rezvan cemetery on 13 January.

Authorities initially refused to release the body and sought to declare him a “martyr” – a move rejected by the family – before he was buried under heavy security in the early hours of 15 January in his hometown of Masjed Soleyman, with only five relatives present.

Last month, Iran International reported that more than 36,500 people were killed by security forces during the 8-9 January crackdown on nationwide protests.