As Iran prepares to conduct indirect talks with the US in Oman, it responded to the recent comments by US President Donald Trump. It was also putting out other messages.
According to Iran’s state media reports on Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran was committed to dialogue but that the United States also had to demonstrate a genuine intent for negotiations.
Pezeshkian made the comments on Monday, the same day that Trump said that the US and Iran would begin talks soon. Iran’s president said his country would not negotiate “at any cost.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that top Iranian and American officials would hold indirect negotiations in Oman on Saturday, according to Iran’s state media IRNA.
“Iran and the United States will meet in Oman on Saturday for indirect, high-level talks,” Araghchi wrote on social media on Tuesday.
“It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court,” he added.
“We’re having direct talks with Iran – and they’ve started. It’ll go on [through] Saturday. We have a very big meeting [then], and we’ll see what can happen,” Trump said in a meeting at the White House, where he was hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry regards Oman as a constructive intermediary with the US.
On Monday, Iranian state media downplayed the possible talks in Oman.
By Tuesday, however, the country had confirmed that the talks would take place. Iran still sees these talks as “indirect.”
Also on Monday, the Iranian president said, “We are not seeking war, tensions, or nuclear weapons; we are seeking negotiations. However, the Americans must also prove that they are genuinely pursuing negotiations.”
The IRNA reported that “Iran’s nuclear doctrine is based on Ayatollah [Ali] Khamenei’s fatwa, which prohibits the production, possession, and stockpiling of nuclear weapons.”
It added that “Trump has called for direct negotiations with Iran to make a new deal to replace the one he unilaterally abandoned during his first term. However, he has also threatened to bomb Iran if an agreement is not reached.” Tehran has ruled out direct talks with the US so far.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry was still saying on Monday that Tehran had not received a response from the US about indirect talks.
However, this statement that was issued by the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Esmail Baqaei, seemed to contradict reports from the US and also from Iran on Tuesday.
“Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Baqaei said that Tehran’s proposal for indirect negotiations with Washington was a ‘generous’ and ‘wise’ offer.”
Tehran received a letter from Trump on March 7, and on Monday, the American president said that talks were expected in the next several days. Iran has also urged the UK, France, and Germany not to trigger snapback sanctions on Iran.
Iran also talking with Russia
Iran is also holding talks with Russia. Iran’s Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, said a second trilateral meeting between Iran, Russia, and China on the nuclear issue will take place in Moscow on Tuesday, per the IRNA.
“In an interview with the IRNA on Monday, Jalali said that the Islamic Republic is engaged in ongoing discussions with both Russia and China regarding bilateral issues and developments in international and regional affairs, including the nuclear issue.”
Iran, Russia, and China met in China earlier this year. “These meetings have taken place in both Beijing and at the headquarters of international organizations in Vienna. Jalali emphasized that the upcoming meeting will build on the progress made in earlier discussion,” the IRNA reported.
The fact that Iran is talking to Russia and China at the same time as the indirect talks with the US in Oman indicates that Iran is hedging and that it wants to make sure it has Moscow’s and Beijing’s backing for any next steps taken with the US.