Iran reluctantly entering talks with US, former diplomat says

Iran is entering indirect negotiations with the United States reluctantly and without full confidence in their outcome, former diplomat Mohammad-Javad Larijani said in a televised interview on Thursday.

“We and the Iranian people fully trust our government and the current foreign minister, and we pray for their success,” Larijani said. “But the very nature of indirect talks shows our hesitation.”

"The US government wants to say: 'I forced Iran—the same Iran whose great commander (Qassem Soleimani) I proudly killed—to sit at the table with me for direct negotiations," he said.

The former top advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned that even if an agreement is reached, it may lack a solid foundation. Iran, he added, could have conveyed its positions to the United States through Oman to first assess whether talks were worthwhile.