Iran will negotiate with the US after Trump's threats
Representatives from both governments are expected to meet face-to-face on Friday in Istanbul.
BarcelonaIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced Tuesday that he has instructed his country to begin negotiations with the United States, amid the threat of a military intervention by Washington. "I have instructed my Foreign Minister to seek fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and self-interest, whenever there is a suitable environment—free from threats and unreasonable expectations," the leader explained to X, detailing what would take place.
The announcement comes weeks after Donald Trump ordered the deployment of a US fleet to the Persian Gulf and threatened to attack Iran with an operation like the one he had launched in Venezuela if no agreement was reached preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. The Iranian response, therefore, represents a shift in its position. Until now, they had made it clear that they would not negotiate while under threat, and had promised to respond in the event of a US attack.
Several US media outlets, including the New York TimesSources indicate that a meeting between Washington and Tehran will take place in Istanbul this Friday with the aim of reducing tensions and negotiating a nuclear agreement. The US delegation will be headed by the White House's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner; in addition to a group of high-ranking officials from Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt, according to the newspaper. This would be the first contact between representatives of Washington and Tehran since negotiations broke down in June of last year, following the start of the war initiated by Israel against Iran, in which the United States participated by bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities.
After weeks of threatening to bomb Iran under the pretext of the Islamic Republic's crackdown on mass protests in the country, Trump admitted that his target was the Iranian nuclear program: his demands include that Tehran agree to end its program of supporting regional militias.
The context for negotiations, if they ultimately take place, will not be neutral. The United States has deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, the same one that was mobilized for the maritime blockade of Venezuela, and three guided-missile destroyers, accompanied by thousands of additional troops, near Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf.