Tehran shoots down nuclear talks under US conditions - Al Mayadeen

Valizadeh, who was arrested in September last year after returning to Iran to visit family, was convicted of collaborating with a hostile government—a charge his legal team and international observers have strongly denounced.

In January, an Iranian appeals court upheld his sentence despite his lawyer arguing that the punishment is disproportionate to the alleged crime.

In a message from Evin Prison obtained by Iran International, Valizadeh said his hunger strike is in response to the Iranian judiciary's refusal to review key aspects of his case. He said that until the full scope of issues raised during interrogations and court proceedings are reconsidered, he will continue his protest.

“The public must know that the judicial process for political prisoners in Iran is hasty, lacks thorough examination, and leads to lengthy and unfair sentences,” he wrote.

Valizadeh was initially held in Ward 2A of Evin Prison, a section controlled by the IRGC Intelligence Organization, before being transferred to Ward 209, overseen by the Ministry of Intelligence.

His trial, held under Judge Iman Afshari, was widely criticized for its brevity and lack of due process. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, two years of internal exile from Tehran and neighboring provinces, and a travel ban.

Currently, he is being held in Ward 8, an area described as an “exile ward” known for its unsanitary and overcrowded conditions. According to sources, lice infestations, lack of medical care, and restricted access to family visits have worsened his situation. Additionally, he has been barred from granting legal representation to his family for handling personal affairs.

Valizadeh’s case has drawn international condemnation, with organizations such as Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists demanding his immediate release. The US State Department has called his arrest a violation of international law, but Valizadeh has criticized Washington for failing to take effective action beyond issuing statements.

Iran has been accused of hostage diplomacy, detaining foreign and dual nationals under vague security charges to use as leverage in diplomatic negotiations and receiving financial rewards. The European Parliament recently condemned this practice, calling for the release of EU detainees. Rights groups warn that such detentions often lead to prisoner exchanges for Iranians held abroad.

Khamenei's official website quoted him as saying, "The insistence of some bullying governments on negotiations is not aimed at resolving issues but rather at asserting dominance and imposing their own demands. The Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly not accept their expectations."

President Trump revealed on Friday that he had sent a letter to Khamenei, offering negotiations while warning of military consequences if talks failed. Speaking to Fox Business Network, Trump said, “There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily or through a deal. I would prefer to make a deal.”

Many in Iran anticipated Khamenei’s response to President Donald Trump’s letter during his speech at a meeting with top government officials on Saturday afternoon. Although the full text of his speech has not yet been released, but apparently he did not directly address Trump's letter.

Khamenei routinely meets with senior government officials, including the president, every Ramadan. This time, however, the announcement came unusually late on Friday evening Tehran time. This followed Trump’s revelation that he had sent Khamenei a letter offering negotiations on Iran's nuclear program while warning that military intervention was the alternative.

Iran has not officially acknowledged receiving Trump’s letter. On Friday, Tehran’s UN mission in New York stated that Iran had “so far” not received any such correspondence.

Speculation over Russian mediation

Highlighting the mediatory role that Russia is playing between Iran and the US, some Iranian media and pundits have speculated that the letter may have been handed to the Iranian ambassador Kazem Jalali during his meeting with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov around midday Tehran time on Friday. Tehran and Moscow both said the meeting was to discuss international efforts to resolve Iran's nuclear program and Tehran-Moscow cooperation.

Hardline media predict no response

Trump sent another letter to Khamenei in 2019, after unilaterally withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal. Khamenei refused to accept the letter, delivered by then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and insisted that Trump was untrustworthy.

An editorial in the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) linked Javan newspaper on Saturday dismissed Trump’s latest letter as “a segment of America’s propaganda puzzle”. Referring to Khamenei’s refusal to accept Trump’s 2019 letter, the editorial suggested that Iran would once again ignore Trump’s message. “Based on the Islamic Republic’s polices; one can predict Iran's response to the letter. There will be no reply, assuming the letter is allowed to be delivered,” the article stated.

The ultra-hardliner Kayhan newspaper similarly referenced the 2019 incident and Khamenei’s rejection of the idea of negotiations with the United States in a speech in February. In its editorial on Saturday, Kayhan argued that Trump’s primary goals was to improve his own image and shift blame for lack of diplomacy onto Iran.

Backchannel diplomacy

Iran and the United States typically communicate through backchannels or intermediaries, such as Oman, which has on several occasions facilitated meetings between officials of the two countries or relayed messages.

Former President Barack Obama reportedly sent multiple letters to Khamenei between 2009 and 2015, discussing topics such as diplomacy, the nuclear deal (JCPOA), and potential cooperation against ISIS. However, there are no reports that Khamenei ever responded in writing to any of these letters.

Speaking at an event marking new investments in the South Pars gas field, Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had endured a difficult winter but managed to keep gas supplies flowing.

“We went through a tough winter,” Pezeshkian said. “Once again, I apologize to the people for power cuts and other issues. Naturally, we must also apologize to industries and producers because we could not fully support them.”

Turning to US sanctions, Pezeshkian dismissed Washington’s efforts to stifle Iranian fuel exports. “They try and say they will bring our fuel exports to zero, that we won’t be able to sell our oil,” he said. “I believe we must engage with a proper logic and not fight amongst ourselves. Their hope is in our internal divisions.”

President Trump announced on Friday that he sent a letter to Khamenei offering talks toward a deal on its nuclear program but warned that the alternative was a military intervention.

"I hope that Iran, and I've written them a letter saying, I hope you're going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it's going to be a terrible thing for them," Trump said in a segment of the interview broadcast on Friday.

"There are two ways Iran can be handled, militarily or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal because I'm not looking to hurt Iran," Trump added. "They're great people. I know so many Iranians from this country."

Since returning to office, Trump has imposed fresh sanctions targeting companies and the so-called shadow fleet of older oil tankers transporting Iranian crude.

Despite US sanctions, Iran’s oil exports have generated more than $35 billion annually in recent years, primarily from sales to China. However, this revenue has not been enough to pull the oil-dependent economy out of the severe crisis it has faced since 2019.

Since early September, Iran’s national currency, the rial, has lost half of its value due to military and geopolitical setbacks in the region and Trump’s election, as he has pledged to significantly cut Tehran’s oil exports.

Pezeshkian praised efforts by Iran’s oil and gas sector to maintain household energy supplies but said the country must improve efficiency and expand renewable energy.

Pezeshkian announced a $17.5 billion investment in power infrastructure aimed at increasing sustainability and allowing more oil and gas to be sold abroad.

Iran needs $45 billion in investment to resolve its chronic winter energy deficit and worsening air pollution, the country's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said in January.

“If we can expand electricity use for heating and cooling, relying on wind and solar energy, then we can export our resources at far better prices,” said Pezeshkian.

Successive Iranian governments have struggled to meet soaring consumption, especially during colder months when power plants are forced to burn polluting fuels that compound the problem of air quality in urban areas.

Iran possesses vast reserves of natural gas, but rising domestic demand and lack of investment to maintain and expand the infrastructure means the country is often a net-importer of energy.

Brigadier General Nozar Nemati, deputy commander of Iran’s Army Ground Forces, said that Iran’s military remains on high alert. “The armed forces, especially the Army, are always ready to defend the ideals of the Islamic Republic and protect the country’s borders,” he told IRNA on Saturday.

His comments came just hours after US President Donald Trump revealed that he had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, offering negotiations but warning of military consequences if talks fail over Iran's nuclear program.

"I hope you're going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it's going to be a terrible thing for them," Trump told Fox Business Network in a segment of the interview broadcast on Friday. "There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily or through a deal. I would prefer to make a deal".

Later on Friday, Trump told reporters at the Oval Office, “We are at the final moments with Iran,” adding that “something’s going to happen very soon.”

The letter was swiftly rejected by an official outlet of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), dismissing it as a psychological operation. Iran’s UN mission in New York also stated it had received no such letter.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking on Friday, had accused Israel of trying to pull the US into a regional war. “It is Israel’s desire to involve other countries in war. It is Israel’s desire to draw America into war,” Araghchi told AFP, warning that US intervention would leave Washington “extremely vulnerable.”

Amid the growing tensions, Nemati reaffirmed Iran’s border security efforts, noting that the country has reinforced its defenses and remains in coordination with IRGC forces. “Our forces are stationed across all critical border areas, working in complete harmony to ensure security,” he said.

Iran has also continued large-scale military drills, including Zolfaghar 1403, which last month showcased its naval, air, and ground combat capabilities.

Trump’s remarks come as his administration escalates its economic pressure campaign on Iran. On Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined a renewed “maximum pressure” strategy aimed at cutting Iran’s oil revenues and further devaluing its currency.

While the US has been pushing for resumption of oil exports from northern Iraq, talks to resume pumping crude through Turkey have collapsed for the second time in a week, official sources confirmed to Reuters.

The breakdown extends a two-year deadlock that has stalled crude flows from the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region to Turkey’s Ceyhan port.

It also complicates President Trump’s strategy of boosting Iraqi oil supply to keep global prices in check while simultaneously increasing pressure on Iran by cutting off its access to cheap crude.

"There is strong insistence from the US side on ensuring the success of the negotiations by any means," a US government official close to the talks told Reuters.

For Baghdad, however, the standoff is part of a larger dilemma. As Trump revives his "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran, Iraq finds itself squeezed between two powerful allies—Washington and Tehran.

Not only is Iraq under growing pressure to restart oil exports, but also to curb Iran’s access to its financial system and restrict militia activity—moves that, in Washington’s view, would make Iraq more independent from Tehran.

Yet, for Iraq to fully align with US demands is unrealistic, given the 2,500 US troops still stationed in the country and last year’s $430 million in US military and economic aid.

Washington exerts financial pressure on Iran via Iraq

Beyond oil, the US is also tightening its grip on Iraq’s financial system in an effort to sever Tehran’s economic lifelines.

Last week, at the US Treasury’s request, Iraq’s central bank blocked five more private banks from accessing US dollars, according to Reuters. The move is part of a broader campaign to limit Tehran’s access to hard currency.

Additionally, Trump’s administration is reviewing all existing sanctions waivers that allow Iran to benefit economically, including the waiver that permits Iraq to purchase Iranian electricity and gas. If revoked, Iraq would be forced to find alternative energy sources or risk blackouts.

Iraqi leaders, however, appear to be pushing back slightly.

In an interview with Al Hadath, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein acknowledged US pressure but rejected the idea that Baghdad would fully align with Trump’s anti-Iran strategy.

“The United States proposed measures to increase pressure on Iran, but Baghdad is committed to balancing its relationships with both Washington and Tehran,” he said.

For now, there are no signs that Trump will escalate pressure immediately, but his unpredictability leaves Baghdad weighing not just whether it can rein in Iran’s influence—but whether it wants to.