Washington and Tehran to hold more nuclear talks as protests reignite in Iran | Iran
Iran and the United States are expected to meet this week for a new round of negotiations in Geneva, a sign that Donald Trump’s team believes Tehran is making serious proposals to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and show it is not seeking nuclear weapons.
Amid fears of a resumption of conflict after Washington made a major redeployment of its military assets in the region, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he believed there was still a good chance of finding a diplomatic solution.
He told CBS that negotiators would likely meet on Thursday to discuss and try to reach “a quick deal.” Referring to US assets in the region as potential targets, however, he said: “If the United States attacks us, then we have every right to defend ourselves. »
The Iranian government, which suspects Trump could make a diplomatic U-turn at any time by authorizing a large-scale attack, is also under new pressure inside the country.
Student protests at universities in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad continued for a second day on Sunday, with videos from the latter suggesting clashes between students and the state-backed Basij militia turned violent.
Universities reopened Saturday for the first time since protests in December and January that left thousands dead, and many students returned to college determined to commemorate those killed and injured.
The actual number of deaths in previous unrest is unclear. The government estimates the figure at just over 3,000, but human rights groups speak of a minimum of 6,000.
The government has refused to allow a UN-led commission of inquiry into the country, insisting its own internal investigation is sufficient. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi is due to speak at the UN Human Rights Council this week, a move that will likely lead to large-scale departures of other delegates.
Trump initially openly supported the protesters, telling them that “help is on the way” and appearing to threaten military intervention. In recent weeks, however, its attention has shifted to Iran’s nuclear program as Washington strengthens its military presence in the region.
Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said over the weekend that the US president was wondering why Iran had not yet given in to US pressure. “It’s curious why they didn’t capitulate…I don’t want to use the word ‘capitulated,’ but why they didn’t capitulate,” he told Fox News.
“Why, under this pressure, with the amount of sea power there, why didn’t they come to us and say ‘we profess we don’t want weapons, so here’s what we’re prepared to do’?”
Iran’s negotiating position is that it should retain the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes under a new verification regime monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog. Iran would be required to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, allow the IAEA full access to its bombed nuclear sites and, in return, receive sanctions relief.
As a result, those in the US Republican Party who call on Trump to bomb Iran, such as Senator Lindsey Graham, are losing ground. For Trump, however, the main political challenge is presenting any new deal as superior to the historic 2015 deal that Democrats negotiated and from which he withdrew in 2018 during his first term as president.
Araghchi told CBS that elements of a new deal could be an improvement on the previous one without being as detailed, because it would commit to Iran’s nuclear program being “peaceful forever.” The 2015 agreement was time-limited.
In practice, experts say, Iran could be granted the right in principle to enrich uranium for nuclear power production, but its practical ability to do so would be strictly limited.
U.S. officials say Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the country’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian, are increasingly excluded from negotiations. They believe Araghchi and Supreme National Security Council Chairman Ali Larijani are leading the strategy.
The extent of Pezeshkian’s political irrelevance has been underscored by the mass arrest of his closest supporters in the Reform Front coalition, a group instrumental in securing his election in 2024, many of whose members are in prison or accused of supporting foreign interests.
Some have been released on bail, but remain furious at being accused of siding with the enemy for criticizing the army and security services for their suppression of protests. Precise information on the number of people incarcerated or charged is patchy.
Two of the front’s personalities, Ebrahim Asgharzadeh, head of its political committee, and Javad Imam, spokesperson, were released on bail after three and four days in prison respectively.
Its leader, Azar Mansouri, who is also secretary general of the Islamic People’s Union of Iran, was also released on bail.
