US Energy Secretary says Persian Gulf allies fear nuclear Iran

A senior Iranian cleric on Friday strongly opposed renewed talks with the United States, saying any negotiations—direct or indirect—would undermine Iran’s national pride and repeat decades of failed diplomacy.

“Negotiating with America is against our national pride,” said Ahmad Alamolhoda, the firebrand Friday imam of Mashhad, during his sermon, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency. “No Iranian with self-respect would accept to approach the US empty-handed.”

He added that US demands—ranging from dismantling Iran’s missile program to limiting its regional influence—amounted to surrender. “They want us to give up everything: our weapons, our science, even our pride. No honorable Iranian would accept that.”

Calling on Iran’s negotiators to resist pressure, Alamolhoda warned: “Direct talks are worse than indirect ones. We’ve been here before—and it always ends badly.”

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has given his approval for nuclear negotiations with the United States, including the possibility of direct talks if initial discussions show progress, The New York Times reported on Friday.

According to two senior Iranian officials cited by NYT, Khamenei reversed his long-standing opposition to engagement with Washington following an urgent meeting last month with the heads of Iran’s executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

“At the end of the hourslong meeting, Mr. Khamenei relented. He granted his permission for talks, first indirect, through an intermediary, and then, if things proceeded well, for direct talks between US and Iranian negotiators,” the paper reported.

The shift came amid internal warnings that failure to engage could lead to war with the United States or Israel, further economic collapse, and threats to Tehran's stability, the officials said.

Formal talks are expected to begin Saturday in Oman. While Iran has publicly maintained the talks will be indirect, US officials have signaled a willingness to meet face-to-face.

Khamenei has also outlined limits for the negotiations, including strict oversight of Iran’s missile program, which remains off the table, but openness to discussing nuclear transparency and regional issues, according to the NYT report.

An Iranian lawmaker said on Friday that upcoming talks with the United States must center on proving Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons, warning that any effort to dismantle the country’s nuclear program would make talks unacceptable.

“In the talks with the US, we must prove that Iran is not pursuing the construction of a nuclear weapon,” Mousa Ghazanfariabadi, a member of parliament representing Bam, said, according to the Mehr news agency.

“But if the other side tries to shut down Iran’s nuclear program or raise unrelated issues, the negotiation is invalid and unacceptable,” he added.

A senior Iranian cleric on Friday rejected the idea of direct negotiations with the United States, describing it as "Trump's deceptive ploy", saying such talks are not acceptable to Iran.

“Direct talks are beneath us,” said Tehran’s interim Friday prayer Imam Kazem Sedighi during his weekly sermon, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. “How can we trust those who tore up the deal?”

Sedighi said any engagement with Washington must be approached with caution, citing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s guidance that negotiations should only take place when there is certainty the other side will honor its commitments.

“There is no room left for negotiation where they try to take the nuclear industry from us,” he said.

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Iran’s nuclear chief said on Friday that Tehran has continued advancing its nuclear program despite years of international pressure, including US-led sanctions and restrictions aimed at halting uranium enrichment.

“They still think threats, intimidation, psychological operations, and foolish actions can stop our nation — but we’ve crossed their so-called red lines,” Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, said in a speech ahead of Friday prayers in Tehran, according to the ISNA news agency.

“They didn’t want us to enrich uranium. They consider it their exclusive right. But we have achieved fuel cycle capabilities,” he said.

He criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for what he called double standards, saying Iran was the only country under such intense scrutiny despite having agreed to parts of the agency’s monitoring framework. “Despite all the inspections, they still claim Iran is hiding something,” he said.

Eslami said Iran had moved beyond the “nuclear stabilization” phase of a decade ago and was now producing nuclear-related technologies with direct benefits for the country’s industry and public.