Iran International
Iran’s strategy post-war and post-UN sanctions appears to have taken shape into what some in Tehran media have called “armed negotiations,” warning that it could make a thaw with Washington less likely.
Under the doctrine, officials say diplomacy is still possible—but only from a position of maximum strength and full military readiness, especially if talks were to resume under a second Trump administration.
Conservative outlets including Hamshahri, Jam-e Jam and Tabnak stressed that Iran would enter any talks “without trust, and ready to defend its red lines by force if necessary.”
In recent days, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani and Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh confirmed that several countries had passed messages from Washington about reopening nuclear talks.
Tehran’s answer, they said, is that no negotiations will occur unless Iran enters them with demonstrated deterrent power.
Battlefield diplomacy
Other developments point to escalation as well. Iran’s seizure of a foreign oil tanker in international waters last week underscored its willingness to court confrontation, testing the limits of U.S. patience.
The state-broadcaster daily Jam-e Jam made its case by citing Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi: “What you failed to take on the battlefield, you cannot impose at the negotiating table.” A
raghchi said on Sunday that Tehran was prepared for renewed conflict and was halting nuclear talks with the E3 (Britain, France and Germany) after they triggered the mechanism that returned UN sanctions on Iran.
The message, or the “doctrine” as it is described in Tehran, is that the Islamic Republic remains open to diplomacy, but only with weapons at the ready.
‘Armed negotiation’
On Monday, moderate outlets questioned both the logic behind the doctrine and what they see as conflicting signals from those in power.
“One day Iran strictly rules out any negotiation and a few days later the media say the other side has called for talks,” Ham Mihan wrote in an editorial. “This only makes sense if officials clarify what has changed in the other side’s conditions.”
The paper warned that the public is tired of “news that leads nowhere” and wants something new.
Even the conservative outlet Rokna—aligned with the security establishment—challenged the efficacy of Tehran’s approach, especially on the nuclear file.
“Iran’s nuclear ambiguity and the IAEA report have only symbolic value,” it asserted, reflecting the widely held view that Tehran is deliberately keeping its nuclear stockpile’s status unclear to deter the United States and Israel.
The moderate daily Setareh Sobh mocked the new doctrine as “armed negotiation,” arguing that it is less a show of strength than a “product of mounting economic pressures, the snapback of sanctions, and a series of regional developments.”
