Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that he had told the country’s foreign minister to hold “fair and just negotiations” with the United States after escalating tensions with the Trump administration. It was the first clear sign that Iran could take part in talks later this week.
The decision “follows a request from friendly regional governments to respond to the US president’s proposal for negotiations,” Pezeshkian said in a social media post. “I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, if an appropriate environment exists – free of threats and unreasonable expectations – to conduct fair and just negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence and convenience.”
“I would like to see a deal negotiated,” President Trump said Monday. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could get something out of it, that would be great. And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.”
Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with the possibility of a new military strike as what he calls an “army” of US warships heads towards the Persian Gulf. He he said at first The US could attack if Iran kills protesters amid a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests that rocked the country in early January. He made the same threat last week, but said an attack was possible If Iran refuses to negotiate a new deal over its nuclear program.
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US envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to the region, and Gulf countries, including Turkey and Qatar, have been planning talks for this week. The White House has not confirmed that Witkoff will attend negotiations with Iranian authorities. The foreign ministers of Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also been invited to take part in the talks, if they happen, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday, citing an unnamed regional official.
The Iranian protester told CBS News that Mr. Trump must “keep his word.”
“Our biggest fear is that if they (the Iranian government) remain in power, they want to take revenge because people crossed their red line by taking to the streets, shouting ‘death to Khamenei and the Islamic Republic,'” Zahra, who took part in Friday’s protests, told CBS News on Friday.
His name has been changed to protect his identity.
He said the people of Iran would support US intervention to overthrow the regime headed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“They want people who have no connection with the regime to go at any cost. They want Khamenei removed or arrested or whatever. But they want the Islamic Regime to disappear,” said Zahra. “Each one, from the so-called hard-liners – the circle closest to Khamenei – to those who were known as reformists… we want them all to disappear, because they are a system. They have been working together, and they are complicit in it.”
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Zahra said of the Iranian protests, “We saw President Trump’s tweets on satellite TV. We read when he said, ‘Help is on the way.’ People trusted him. People had a lot of faith in him. And people took to the streets.”
He urged Mr Trump to “keep his word”.
“We tried all the options, and it was all peaceful,” Zahra said. “People were unarmed and they were shot in large crowds. So what I see is that these people have done everything they could for a better future. And now there’s an understanding among them that we can’t do it on our own.”