Iran Confirms Indirect Talks With US Over Nuclear Program

Iran stands out as one of the few countries, if not the only one, where shadow governments are established by allies of the ruling government rather than by its political adversaries.

The formation of a shadow government, initiated by populist ultraconservative politician Saeed Jalili in 2013, seemed logical during the tenure of the relatively moderate government led by Hassan Rouhani. However, Jalili persisted with these shadow government meetings even after like-minded ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi assumed power in 2021.

Amir Hossein Sabeti, a state television presenter, who won a seat in the Iranian parliament (Majles) recently, wrote in a series of tweets that he attended a meeting of the "economic diplomacy work group" at the shadow government's office in Tehran.

Sabeti was Jalili’s chief of staff before leaving for the state television to become a talk show host, where Jalili's brother Vahid is the deputy director. The hardliner Paydari group, with the Jalili brothers as its influential members, control the state TV, where they propagate their ideology.

Sabeti wrote that senior officials from the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture as well as the governor of Central Bank, Tehran Governor General's office and even the Imam's Executive Headquarters, one of the richest entities operating under the aegis of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were present at the meeting.

The meeting, Sabeti said, discussed the problem of bringing in hard foreign currency cash into Iran from abroad. He added that the meeting called on the government to hold similar meetings to solve Iran’s shortage of US dollars. Meanwhile, he criticized the parliament for not cooperating with the government.

From Sabeti's tweet it was clear that Jalili is running a parallel government that tries to make up for the inefficiency of the Raisi Administration.

Incidentally, on the same date, conservative website Tabnak, which is close to Mohsen Rezaei, the man who coordinates meetings between the heads of the executive, legislative and judiciary bodies, quoted Reformist politician Mehdi Ayati as suggesting that Iran's Reformists who have been sidelined and ignored in the latest three elections in the country, should form their own shadow government.

Ayati added that if the Reformists fail in that endeavor, they will be forgotten soon, suggesting that the reformists should become active critics of the government. He also argued that political figures such as former President Mohammad Khatami and his aide Behzad Nabavi should retire and allow younger Reformists to restore their lost social credibility.

Parviz Amini, a prominent conservative sociologist during a recent televised debate said that the Reformist and Conservative definition of politics in Iran has lost its meaning. “Even the idea of boycotting the elections by Reformists never materialized because they are no longer active players." He added that the government turned the elections from a national event into smaller local events where family and tribal bonds were the driving force rather than political forces and ideology."

Amini argued that "there are no political forces in Iran with defined doctrines. Instead, the entire Iranian society is focused on the demand for change. Since the 2010s absolute poverty has tripled in Iran, public welfare has declined by more than 35 percent, and the national currency has been devalued by tens of times and all those problems brough about three major rounds of protests since 2018. In such a situation, elections and political parties are no longer the people's focus. They are only focused on change."

The statement followed his meeting with members of Iran’s Islamic Coalition Party in Tehran on Wednesday.

The Chinese envoy's assertion to bolster ties is a result of Iran's limited participation in China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and other regional investments, primarily due to enduring US sanctions. Despite close political relations, Iran's involvement in the BRI remains minimal, raising concerns about the depth of their strategic partnership.

Initiated in 2013 with investments totaling $1 trillion across approximately 150 countries, the BRI aims to enhance regional integration, trade expansion, and economic growth. However, Iran has received relatively few investments compared to other nations, casting doubts on the sustainability of their alliance.

Chinese investments in Iran have been modest, with only two agreements signed between 2013 and 2023. Challenges such as the US withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear accord in 2018 have hindered projects like the South Pars gas field's phase 11 and the Gohardasht Steel project.

Now, the focus is turning towards the Islamic Coalition Party, a conservative political entity in Iran which advocates for economic liberalism and holds influence among older generations of conservatives, particularly among retailers and traditionalist clerics.

Among the Chinese leadership there is a perception that as the dominant ruling force within the Islamic Republic, the party is a critical gateway to economic development.

In addition to ongoing military ties, China is already making headway into Iran's construction market, perceived by the Iranian government as critical foreign investment for the country strangled by global sanctions.

During an online meeting, Pahlavi said that the armed forces will act to ensure the survival of the regime if dissidents and activists employ vindictive rhetoric against them during the campaigns to topple the Islamic Republic.

“We are not seeking revenge. We want hatred and revenge to be replaced by coexistence and reconciliation. If the regime changes and our culture is still to take revenge, we have done nothing,” he stressed.

According to the exiled prince, if as little as 3.5% of the Iranian population can act in concert in an organized manner, it can lead to a regime change based on the principles of non-violent struggle.

“However, at the end of the day, it all comes down to whether the armed forces, who protect the regime, will stand in front of the people or not,” he went on to say.

Pahlavi further remarked that the most important thing at the moment is to save Iran from an inhuman regime for the sake of the future secular democracy in the country.

The armed forces have been at the front lines of the regime's oppression against the uprising. At least 500 civilians have been murdered by brutal crackdowns around Iran since the uprising of 2022 as the country's state security imposes harsh punishment for protesters and dissidents.

The waiver, signed and transmitted to the US Congress late Wednesday, allows Iraq to purchase electricity from Iran for billions of dollars and pay for it by transferring hard currencies to accounts in third countries such as Oman and Qatar.

While exempting Iraq from Iran sanctions for importing energy is not a new policy, the permission for Baghdad to pay in hard currency is part of the waiver. This was allowed for the first time by the Biden administration last year.

Iran International has information confirming that the waiver will allow Iraq once again to pay for its energy imports with hard currencies via accounts in third countries. The Biden administration claims that money going into these accounts can only be used to purchase non-sanctionable good, but so far there has been no accounting for the $10 billion that Iraq transferred to Oman last year.

Critics say the waiver should not have been renewed, not least because Iran continues to fund armed groups that are hellbent on harming Americans and forcing the United States to pull out from the region.

“Why is Biden granting sanctions relief to Iran while its proxies aim to kill US personnel,” asked Rep. Pat Fallon on his X account. “Does Biden want to fund terrorism or does it want to protect our troops abroad? Another chapter in the Biden foreign policy legacy of disgrace!”

Such strong feelings towards Joe Biden’s Iran policy are not new. The difference this time is that many in Washington see the regime in Tehran as not just an adversary but an enemy in a proxy war that has killed and wounded Americans.

“President Biden just renewed a sanctions waiver to allow Iran access to $10 billion,” Rep. Bryan Steil posted on X. “Meanwhile, Iran is enriching uranium closer to nuclear level and its proxies are shooting missiles at our service-members, killing 3.”

The Biden administration maintains that the waiver is not what many suggest –that it will not enrich the Iranian regime or its proxies, and it’s not a Biden initiative at any rate.

“The waiver has been regularly renewed since 2018, continuing a practice from the prior administration,” a State Department spokesperson said in response to questions submitted by Iran International. “Since 2018, the waiver has remained necessary as Iraq weans itself off Iranian energy imports, which cannot happen overnight.”

It’s unclear if (or to what extent) the new waiver differs from the original that was granted in 2018. Some experts have suggested that this one offers Iran way more freedom on how to use the money. 

The State Department has only gone as far as to say “under these waivers, no money has been permitted to enter Iran.” And that the funds “can only be used for transactions for the purchase of food, agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, and other non-sanctionable transactions.”

“The money never touches Iran,” the department’s spokesperson said Wednesday.

But his argument has never satisfied Biden’s critics –and it’s unlikely to do so this time. The critics say that money is fungible and does not need to ever “touch” Iran to benefit the regime. That it exists and is accessible, they say, means that it can free up funds of corresponding figures inside Iran, which can then be used for ‘malign activities.’

“The Biden Administration should be combatting Iran’s ability to finance terror at every level,” Rep. Bill Huizenga posted on X shortly after the sanction waiver was signed and transmitted to the US Congress. “ It is no secret Iranian funded proxies are attacking American troops and our allies. President Biden should apply maximum pressure and tighten restrictions on the Iranian regime.

President Biden has not lifted any sanctions since he took office, but he has relaxed the sanctions’ enforcement, allowing China to buy from Iran millions of barrels of oil and replenish its empty coffers with an estimated $80 billion.

In an interview with the semi-official Mehr News Agency on Tuesday, Mohammad Moghimi asserted that not a single academic has been dismissed from Iran’s top state university on political grounds.

“The ethical problems of some professors who make a lot of noise on social media, by the way, has been proven,” Moghimi claimed.

In September 2023, Moghimi asserted that he had “full knowledge” that some academics who had been dismissed had faced lawsuits from students regarding "ethical matters."

The latest wave of academic purges in Iran began during President Ebrahim Raisi's administration. It gained momentum shortly after nationwide protests under the banner of "Woman, Life, Freedom" erupted following the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in the custody of the so-called morality police on September 16, 2022. Following Amini’s death, many universities became centers of extensive months-long student protests.

While the law prohibits the military from entering academic institutions, plainclothes security forces and organized militia were extensively deployed to suppress the student protests. Armed plainclothes agents and vigilantes went so far as to attack students inside Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology on October 3, 2022, resulting in the arrest of dozens of students.

Academics Fired Over Protest Support

Ali Sharifi-Zarchi, a prominent member of the bioinformatics and AI Faculty within the prestigious computer engineering department of Sharif University of Technology, was among the first to be dismissed for his support of dissident students.

Zarchi's revelation of the actions taken against him prompted several other academics, such as Somayyeh Sima, a faculty member in the water engineering department at Tarbiat Modares University, to come forward and share their own experiences.

Numerous academics who were dismissed, terminated, suspended, or demoted for supporting protesting students faced arbitrary accusations. They were accused of “academic sluggishness”, “political immorality and media show-off”, and "defiling" the academic arena with their "factional and even anti-national views" by the ministry of higher education.

The purge has been widely attributed to ultra-hardliners allied with President Ebrahim Raisi, aiming to assert dominance in the political arena by ousting other politicians, officials, and academics. Former moderate conservative Speaker Ali Larijani coined the term "purification" to characterize these plans.

Academic Purges: From 1980 To Today

The history of academic purges in the Islamic Republic dates back to 1980, shortly after the victory of the Islamic Revolution. The newly established government's Cultural Revolutionary Headquarters shut down universities across Iran for three years, aiming to eliminate dissenting voices and impose its Islamic revolutionary ideology on higher education institutions.

During that period, thousands of professors and students were purged for a variety of reasons, including their political affiliations and perceived Western influences, in what became known as the "Cultural Revolution".

Throughout Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency (2005-2013), closely aligned with hardliners, the regime sought to recruit academics who shared the ideological stance of the hardline and religious establishment. Concurrently, it endeavored to eradicate its political adversaries, namely reformists, from academia.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has also repeatedly emphasized that universities must adhere to Islamic principles, asserting that those not aligned with the regime should be barred from teaching. In a speech delivered in July 2015, he stated, "Do not employ unreliable individuals in universities at any cost." He urged, "There are good professors; employ them."