Iran International
Tehran’s messaging this week suggests it may be open to a limited agreement with Washington, but its preconditions leave little room for a deal that US President Donald Trump deemed 'probable' this week.
A Reuters report on Thursday quoted two regional sources as saying Iran asked Saudi Arabia to help persuade the United States to restart nuclear talks, a day after Trump said Iran wanted a deal and he would "probably" make it.
In Tehran, however, Iranian media coverage and official commentary depict a divided polity where routine hints at diplomacy collide with immovable red lines of ideology and strategy.
The result, as the moderate outlet Fararu put it, is a “total halt” and a “dangerous deadlock” in Tehran’s approach to Washington.
“The two sides have reached a deadlock that can escalate to the point of no return,” political analyst Ali Bigdeli warned. “I do not want to use the word war, but when diplomacy cannot go any further, war will be looming.”
The adviser
Fararu and other outlets framed their analyses around remarks aired by CNN from Kamal Kharrazi, a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who heads the influential Council for Foreign Relations.
In the interview, Kharrazi laid out two conditions for any talks with the United States: they must be conducted “on equal footing and with mutual respect,” and they must follow an agreed agenda.
He then undercut Tehran’s long-proclaimed openness to diplomacy with two firm caveats: Iran will discuss only the levels of its uranium enrichment, not a halt; and it will “categorically” refuse to put its missile program on the table.
Earlier this week, nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami told a Foreign Ministry gathering that the United States and its allies had triggered “a new round of dangerous escalation.”
At the same event, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi argued that despite Trump’s comments on Iran’s readiness for dialogue, “the West is not prepared for negotiations,” adding that Tehran is in no hurry to sit down.
The message
Media commentary intensified during the Washington visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The most debated claim was that President Massoud Pezeshkian had sent a message—via the Crown Prince—to Donald Trump.
Nour News, close to former national security chief Ali Shamkhani, denied this on Thursday, insisting Pezeshkian’s communication concerned only next year’s Hajj. But some critics noted the timing suggested otherwise.
Others argued that even if such a message had been sent, it would carry little weight, since Trump sees Khamenei as the only decision-maker who matters.
Khamenei’s position, they argued, is best read through the words of his foremost senior foreign policy adviser, Kharrazi.
The outlook
Whether Trump will entertain the idea of talks under Kharrazi’s terms remains uncertain. But the signs are not encouraging.
Kharrazi’s proposed framework mirrors what Tehran floated in late May and early June—and we know how that ended.
Even Trump’s cautious optimism during his joint appearance with the Crown Prince—saying he would “probably” forge a deal with Iran—lacked conviction.
It was a promise punctuated and punctured by a dealmakers’ shrug: “We will see.”
