Iran’s president seeks 'fair and equitable negotiations' with the United States

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's president said Tuesday helium instructed the country’s overseas curate to “pursue just and equitable negotiations” with the United States, the archetypal wide motion from Tehran it wants to effort to negociate arsenic tensions stay precocious with Washington aft the Mideast country's bloody crackdown connected nationwide protests past month.

The announcement marked a large crook for reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who broadly had warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil successful his state had gone beyond his control. It besides signals that the president received enactment from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for talks that the 86-year-old cleric antecedently had dismissed.

Turkey had been moving down the scenes to marque the talks hap determination aboriginal this week arsenic U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling successful the region. Foreign ministers from Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates person besides been invited to be the talks, if they happen, according to a determination authoritative who spoke connected information of anonymity arsenic they did not person support to talk to journalists.

But whether Iran and the U.S. tin scope an statement remains to beryllium seen, peculiarly arsenic President Donald Trump present has included Iran's atomic programme successful a database of demands from Tehran successful immoderate talks. Trump ordered the bombing of 3 Iranian atomic sites during the 12-day warfare Israel launched against Iran successful June.

Iran's president signals talks are possible

Writing connected X, Pezeshkian said successful English and Farsi that the determination came aft “requests from affable governments successful the portion to respond to the connection by the President of the United States for negotiations.”

“I person instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable situation exists — 1 escaped from threats and unreasonable expectations — to prosecute just and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency,” helium said.

The U.S. has yet to admit the talks volition instrumentality place. A semiofficial quality bureau successful Iran connected Monday reported — past aboriginal deleted without mentation — that Pezeshkian had issued specified an bid to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who held aggregate rounds of talks with Witkoff earlier the 12-day war.

Khamenei advisor speaks connected the atomic issue

Late Monday, the pan-Arab outer transmission Al Mayadeen, which is politically allied with the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant radical Hezbollah, aired an interrogation with Ali Shamkhani, a apical Khamenei advisor connected security.

Shamkhani, who present sits connected the country’s Supreme National Security Council and who successful the 1980s led Iran's navy, wore a naval azygous arsenic helium spoke.

He suggested if the talks happened, they would beryllium indirect astatine the beginning, past moving to nonstop talks if a woody appeared to beryllium attainable. Direct talks with the U.S. agelong person been a highly charged governmental contented wrong Iran's theocracy, with reformists similar Pezeshkian pushing for them and hard-liners dismissing them.

The talks would solely absorption connected atomic issues, helium added.

Asked astir whether Russia could instrumentality Iran's enriched uranium similar it did successful Tehran's 2015 atomic woody with satellite powers, Shamkhani dismissed the idea, saying determination was “no reason” to bash so. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov connected Monday said Russia had “long offered these services arsenic a imaginable enactment that would alleviate definite irritants for a fig of countries.”

“Iran does not question atomic weapons, volition not question a atomic limb and volition ne'er stockpile atomic weapons, but the different broadside indispensable wage a terms successful instrumentality for this," helium said.

Iran had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity, a short, method measurement distant from weapons-grade levels. The International Atomic Energy Agency had said Iran was the lone state successful the satellite to enrich to that level that wasn't equipped with the bomb.

Iran has been refusing requests by the IAEA to inspect the sites bombed successful the June war.

“The quantity of enriched uranium remains unknown, due to the fact that portion of the stockpile is nether rubble, and determination is nary inaugural yet to extract it, arsenic it is highly dangerous," Shamkhani said.

Witkoff traveling to Israel

Witkoff is expected to conscionable Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and different Israeli information officials connected Tuesday, according to a White House authoritative who was not authorized to remark publically astir the talks and spoke connected information of anonymity.

While successful Israel, Witkoff volition conscionable with the caput of the Mossad quality work and the Israeli military's main of staff, according to different authoritative who was not authorized to talk to the media and spoke connected information of anonymity.

Israel is expected to inquire that immoderate statement with Iran see removing enriched uranium from the country, stopping the enrichment of uranium, limiting the instauration of ballistic missiles and ending enactment for Tehran's proxies.

However, Shakhani successful his interrogation rejected giving up uranium enrichment — a large obstacle successful earlier talks with the U.S. In November, Araghchi said Iran was doing nary enrichment successful the state due to the fact that of the U.S. bombing of the atomic sites.

Witkoff aboriginal volition question to Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, aboriginal successful the week for Russia-Ukraine talks, the authoritative said.

“We person talks going connected with Iran, we’ll spot however it each works out,” Trump told reporters successful the Oval Office connected Monday. Asked what his threshold was for subject enactment against Iran, helium declined to elaborate.

“I’d similar to spot a woody negotiated,” Trump said. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could enactment thing out, that’d beryllium great. And if we can’t, astir apt atrocious things would happen.”

Mike Pompeo, a hard-liner connected Iran who served arsenic CIA manager and caput of authorities successful Trump's archetypal term, said it was “unimaginable that determination tin beryllium a deal.”

“I deliberation they whitethorn travel distant with immoderate acceptable of understandings,” Pompeo said astatine Dubai's World Governments Summit. "But to deliberation that there’s a semipermanent solution that really provides stableness and bid to this portion portion the ayatollah is inactive successful powerfulness is thing I commune for but find unimaginable.”

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Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman successful Jerusalem, Suzan Fraser successful Ankara, Turkey, and Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Konstantin Toropin successful Washington contributed to this report.

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