Talks with the U.S. should be pursued to secure national interests as long as "threats and unreasonable expectations" are avoided, President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X on Tuesday (3 February).
“Taking into account demands from friendly regional countries to respond to the U.S. President's suggestion for talks, I instructed the foreign minister to prepare the ground for equitable and fair negotiations, should an atmosphere free of threats and unreasonable expectations arise,” Pezeshkian said.
The comments come amid mounting regional concern that a renewed confrontation between the United States and Iran could destabilise the Middle East.
Speaking at a panel during the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said the region did not need another crisis and stressed the importance of a diplomatic solution.
“I think the region has gone through various calamitous confrontations. I don’t think we need another one,” Gargash said.
Against this backdrop, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul on Friday (6 February) to revive diplomacy over Iran’s long-running nuclear dispute.
A regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt will also take part, amid fears of a new regional war.
Tensions have been increasing amid a U.S. naval buildup near Iran, following a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations last month, the deadliest domestic unrest in Iran since its 1979 revolution.
Trump, who stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene during the crackdown, has since demanded Tehran make nuclear concessions and sent a flotilla to its coast.
He said last week Iran was "seriously talking", while Tehran's top security official Ali Larijani said arrangements for negotiations were under way.
Asked on Monday (1 February) about the prospect of a deal, Trump told reporters at the White House talks were happening.
"We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones - the biggest and the best - and we have talks going on with Iran and we'll see how it all works out ... if we can work something out, that would be great and if we can't, probably bad things would happen."
Iranian sources told Reuters last week that Trump had demanded three conditions for resumption of talks: Zero enrichment of uranium in Iran, limits on Tehran's ballistic missile programme and ending its support for regional proxies.
Iran has long rejected all three demands as unacceptable infringements of its sovereignty, but two Iranian officials told Reuters its clerical rulers saw the ballistic missile programme, rather than uranium enrichment, as the bigger obstacle.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was considering "the various dimensions and aspects of the talks", adding that "time is of the essence for Iran as it wants the lifting of unjust sanctions sooner".
Türkiye and other regional allies have sought de-escalation.
"Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt, as well as some other countries, will attend the Istanbul meeting. There will be bilateral, trilateral and other meetings," the diplomat said.
A Turkish ruling-party official told Reuters that Tehran and Washington had agreed to re-focus on diplomacy and possible talks this week, in a potential reprieve for potential U.S. strikes.
Ball in Trump’s court
The Iranian official said diplomacy is ongoing and stressed that talks should resume without preconditions. Iran is ready to show flexibility on uranium enrichment, including handing over 400 kg of highly enriched uranium and accepting zero enrichment under a consortium arrangement.
However, he added, for the start of talks, Tehran wanted U.S. military assets moved away from Iran.
"Now the ball is in Trump's court," he said.
Tehran's regional sway has been weakened by Israel's attacks on its proxies from Hamas in Gaza to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Iraq, as well as by the ousting of Iran's close ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In June last year the United States struck Iranian nuclear targets, joining in at the close of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Since then, Tehran has said its uranium enrichment work has stopped.
Recent satellite imagery of two of the targeted sites, Isfahan and Natanz, appears to show some repair work since December, with new roofing over two previously destroyed buildings.
No other rebuilding was visible, according to the imagery provided by Planet Labs and reviewed by Reuters.
Washington-based think tank ISIS said satellite images from late January showed construction work on tunnel entrances at Isfahan that could "indicate a preparation for additional military strikes" as was seen ahead of last year's U.S. strikes.
It could also signal the movement of assets from other facilities, it added.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said it has called on Iran repeatedly to find out what happened to the highly enriched uranium stock since the June attacks.
Western countries fear Iran's uranium enrichment could yield material for a warhead. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for electricity generation and other civilian uses.
The Iranian sources said Tehran could ship its highly enriched uranium abroad and pause enrichment in a deal that should also include the lifting of economic sanctions.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he sees progress between Israel and Lebanon after talks with Netanyahu, while Hezbollah has rejected a new ceasefire ...
Azerbaijan is once again at the centre of global climate diplomacy, hosting World Environment Day 2026 and bringing together international leaders, po...
Azerbaijan has strongly rejected allegations published by CNN claiming that its territory was used for Israeli military and intelligence operations ag...
The Eighth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly has concluded in Samarkand, bringing together representatives from 186 countries to set environm...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Nigerien President Abdourahamane Tchiani in Ankara on Thursday, underscoring Türkiye’s growing engag...
U.S. President Donald Trump said he sees progress between Israel and Lebanon after talks with Netanyahu, while Hezbollah has rejected a new ceasefire proposal and Israel has ruled out a troop withdrawal.
Azerbaijan has strongly rejected allegations published by CNN claiming that its territory was used for Israeli military and intelligence operations against Iran, describing the report as entirely baseless and demanding a retraction.
The Eighth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly has concluded in Samarkand, bringing together representatives from 186 countries to set environmental priorities and approve new funding for climate, biodiversity and sustainable development initiatives.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said in a statement that its Aerospace Force did not strike the Kuwait Airport passenger terminal on Wednesday, and that the destruction was instead caused by a failed U.S. Patriot missile.
Five Azerbaijani citizens have been killed and three others injured following drone attacks on two cargo vessels in the Sea of Azov, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
Israel and Lebanon have agreed to implement a ceasefire after U.S.-backed talks in Washington. The deal requires Hezbollah to halt attacks and withdraw from southern Lebanon, while both sides will resume direct talks later this month aimed at reaching a broader agreement.
As Armenia heads toward parliamentary elections on 7 June, the country's relationship with Azerbaijan is emerging as one of the defining issues of the campaign, with analysts and international observers highlighting the role of regional politics in shaping voters’ mindsets.
Armenia will hold parliamentary elections on 7 June 2026, a vote that will shape the country’s political direction for the next five years. Understanding how the electoral system converts votes into parliamentary power is key to following the outcome and its wider regional implications.
The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, with around 600 mothers dying for every 100,000 live births.
Azerbaijan is once again at the centre of global climate diplomacy, hosting World Environment Day 2026 and bringing together international leaders, policymakers and organisations to address urgent environmental challenges.
The Eighth Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly has concluded in Samarkand, bringing together representatives from 186 countries to set environmental priorities and approve new funding for climate, biodiversity and sustainable development initiatives.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has warned ahead of World Environment Day that Afghanistan's worsening water crisis is disproportionately affecting women and girls, who bear much of the responsibility for securing water for their families.
Azerbaijan is increasingly positioning itself as a strategic bridge between East and West, using a combination of diplomacy, energy cooperation and regional connectivity to expand its international influence.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment