Iran’s supreme leader opens door to talks with ‘enemy’ US over Tehran’s nuclear programme
- This development could pave the way for President Masoud Pezeshkian’s promised re-engagement with the West
Iran’s supreme leader opened the door on Tuesday to renewed negotiations with the United States over his country’s rapidly advancing nuclear programme, telling its civilian government there was “no barrier” to engaging with its “enemy.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks set clear red lines for any talks taking place under the government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and renewed his warnings that Washington wasn’t to be trusted.
But his comments mirror those around the time of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran’s nuclear programme greatly curtailed in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Yet it remains unclear just how much room Pezeshkian will have to manoeuvre, particularly as tensions remain high in the wider Middle East over the Israel-Gaza war and as the US prepares for a presidential election in November.
“We do not have to pin our hope to the enemy. For our plans, we should not wait for approval by the enemies,” Khamenei said in a video broadcast by state television. “It is not contradictory to engage the same enemy in some places, there’s no barrier.”
Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, also warned Pezeshkian’s Cabinet, “Do not trust the enemy.”
Khamenei, 85, has occasionally urged talks or dismissed them with Washington after then President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018.
