Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reportedly told by two of his senior officials to enter nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration, saying that not doing so could risk war with Washington and could lead to the fall of the regime, The New York Times reported Friday, citing the senior officials.
Khamenei eventually heeded the officials' warnings and granted permission for talks with Washington, according to the report, which would first be indirect negotiations through an intermediary and then evolve into direct talks between the two countries. The NYT report comes a day before the two countries will meet in Oman for the indirect talks.
Officials told the supreme leader that, in the case of negotiations falling through, the US military would strike Natanz and Fordow, which are two nuclear sites of the Islamic Republic. US President Donald Trump also said this week that "Iran would be in great danger" if talks failed between the two countries. The NYT also cited the officials as saying that a war with Israel would also be detrimental to the regime.
Talks between Khamenei and the heads of the country's judiciary and parliament, which reportedly lasted hours, were held in March in response to Trump's letter seeking nuclear negotiations, to which the Islamic Republic gave an official response confirming their participation in negotiations, the officials told the NYT.
Iran's economic crisis
Iranian officials added that the country's economic crisis, which would be further damaged in a potential war with Israel and the US, would also contribute to the toppling of the Islamic Republic, the report noted. Last month, the Iranian parliament impeached Economy Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati, with the parliament's speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, saying the decision was driven by widespread dissatisfaction with the handling of the economy that was suffering from international sanctions.
How talks in Oman will play out
The Saturday talks in Oman, which will also act as a mediator, will see the Islamic Republic represented by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the United States represented by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
As the talks will be indirect, the report stated that officials from the two sides will sit in separate rooms while Omani officials will deliver messages from the two sides to one another.
Amichai Stein, The Media Line Staff, and Reuters contributed to this report.