Iranian media and politicians adopt cautious tone after Trump inauguration

"There is always hope people will choose rationality, Zarif said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “I hope that this time around, a 'Trump 2' will be more serious, more focused, more realistic."

On any potential pressure from the new administration on Iran to give up its nuclear program, Zarif told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that Tehran would not be convinced by force.

“Nobody thinks of Iran as such an easy place to carry out their whims. So we can move forward, move forward based on opportunity rather than based on threats.”

Tehran has gained more nuclear capabilities since the United States withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal, he added, but maintained Iran does not seek nuclear weapons and poses no threat to the world.

Starting in 2006, the UN Security Council implemented multiple rounds of sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear program.

In 2015, many of these economic sanctions were suspended under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. After the US announced its withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018, nuclear-related sanctions were reinstated.

Relaxed hijab enforcement

Zarif, a relative moderate, also addressed Tehran's new hijab law which UN experts have labeled a further "assault on women’s rights and freedoms.”

"If you go to the streets of Tehran, you see that there are women who are not covering their hair. It's against the law, but the government has decided not to put women under pressure," Zarif said. "And this was a promise that President Pezeshkian made. And the promise is being observed."

The controversial new law imposes harsher penalties on women and girls who defy the Islamic veiling requirements. In response to significant backlash from both the public and the international community, the Islamic Republic has officially postponed its implementation. The country's existing mandatory hijab law remains in effect, with other penalties still enforced.

At Davos, Zarif argued that President Pezeshkian is not personally enforcing the new hijab law but has the support of the country's leadership, which he defined as the head of parliament, the head of the judiciary, and other key figures, including the National Security Council.

"So, we're moving in the right direction," Zarif said.

According to several human rights groups, the crackdown on women over the hijab has continued since nationwide protests erupted in 2022, following the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini in the custody of the so-called morality police.

The new law was initially drafted in May 2023, less than a year after the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.

In December 2024, Iran's Supreme National Security Council sent a letter to parliament requesting that the process of implementing the Hijab and Chastity law be halted. The letter proposed that the government submit an amended bill to parliament, according to a member of the Parliament's presiding board.

"The most relevant question is Iran and relations between Iran, Israel and the United States," Antonio Guterres said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, referring to Iran's two archenemies with which Iran has no diplomatic ties.

"Here my hope is that the Iranians understand that it is important to once and for all make it clear that they will renounce to have nuclear weapons, at the same time that they engage constructively with the other countries of the region."

His comments come as a top Iranian official said Monday that Tehran's nuclear program remains central to strengthening national security and deterring international threats.

“Over the years, adversaries have tried to weaken Iran’s progress in this field and entangle the country in international conflicts,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran's spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), during a military conference in Tehran on Monday.

Iranian hardliners have previously advocated for developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent. After Israeli airstrikes on October 26, Javan, a newspaper linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), called on Tehran to consider pursuing nuclear arms to counter external threats.

In October of the previous year, in the wake of the Gaza war sparked by Iran-backed Hamas, 39 Iranian lawmakers urged the Supreme National Security Council to reassess the nation's defense strategy and explore the potential adoption of nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, newly sworn-in US Secretary of State Marco Rubio informed Congress that President Donald Trump intends to pursue the reinstatement of United Nations sanctions on Iran, which were lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Tehran has voiced concerns that the Trump administration could embolden Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to contemplate strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, exacerbating the already volatile security situation in the region.

On Tuesday, the former chairman of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee told local media on Tuesday that despite Pezeshkian’s public openness to engage in talks with the US, there is no sign that higher authorities have given their consent.

In Iran, the term "higher authority" when referring to the president typically means either Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or the National Security Council, which is largely composed of Khamenei's appointees.

“Unless higher authorities grant permission for negotiations, occasional signals of openness toward the US will do little to protect the country’s interests,” Falahatpisheh said regarding Pezeshkian’s recent NBC interview.

The commentator noted that, despite Tehran being a high-priority issue for the new administration, President Donald Trump has yet to unveil his strategy for dealing with the country.

In recent weeks, numerous Iranian officials, media outlets, and commentators have begun advocating for talks as then-President elect Trump edged closer to returning to the White House. Iran's already dire economic situation has deteriorated further since September, sparking concerns in Tehran that Trump may intensify US sanctions, exacerbating pressure on the Islamic Republic.

It remains unclear whether President Trump will impose new sanctions, enhance the enforcement of existing ones, or pursue negotiations.

Falahatpisheh contended that it remains unclear whether Pezeshkian’s overtures toward Trump are aimed at influencing the US president or Iran’s national security council, which must approve any move to start negotiations.

"If these loud calls for negotiations, infatuation, fear, and panic dominate us, we will lose," Esmaeil Khatib said, while accusing the US of intensifying efforts to pressure Iran into what he labeled "imposed negotiations."

Iranian officials and media remain sharply divided on relations with Washington as Donald Trump is back in the White House. Reformist outlets like Jamaran News and Ham Mihan talk of the potential to mend ties, while hardliners such as Kayhan insist otherwise.

"The Americans will clearly intensify their efforts to pressure Iran and create conditions for imposed negotiations, resorting daily to seemingly attractive offers and both enticements and threats," he said, amid warnings from the US that the Trump administration will be taking a 'maximum pressure' approach on Iran, continuing its tough policies of the first administration.

The US cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980, following the formation of the Islamic Republic in the wake of the revolution.

"This is a key point to consider: Since the Islamic Revolution, the Americans have consistently talked about negotiation while acting in the opposite manner," Khatib said.

A shift is also apparent among Iranian conservatives, with figures like hardline politician and former diplomat Mohammad-Javad Larijani and lawmaker Javad Karimi Ghodoosi now advocating for talks.

"We have no restrictions ... if it's for the benefit of the system, even negotiating with the devil would be acceptable. We’d go to the depths of hell to negotiate with him," he said on state TV.

Earlier in the week, Ghodoosi said on X, "The Supreme Leader said years ago that cutting ties with the United States is not permanent and that when the time is right, he will personally announce it. This decision rests solely within the exclusive authority of the Leader of the Ummah."

During his first term, Trump enacted a series of measures to weaken Iran’s economy and diminish its regional influence, particularly targeting its nuclear program. He withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. His policy became known as "maximum pressure."

Earlier in December, Trump's newly appointed Middle East advisor, Massad Boulos, announced that the incoming administration plans to revive its maximum pressure strategy against Iran, signaling a clear intent to reinforce the country’s isolation.

Social media images showed closed shops in cities such as Sanandaj, Saqqez, Divandarreh, and Marivan in Kurdistan province, as well as Mahabad, Bukan in West Azarbaijan province, and Kermanshah.

Earlier this week, six Kurdish groups released a joint statement urging people to stage a strike on Wednesday to prevent the executions of Pakhshan Azizi and Varishe Moradi by shutting down marketplaces, workplaces, and schools.

Moradi was sentenced to death in November by Tehran's Revolutionary Court on charges of "armed rebellion." Azizi received the same sentence in July.

Both sentences have sparked outrage locally and internationally. Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, also joined the protest calls, writing on Instagram, “I urge all political, social, cultural, civil, and professional organizations to join this strike.”

Among the parties supporting the strike were the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, also known as the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, and the Kurdistan Organization of the Communist Party of Iran.

Azizi was sentence to death in July 2024 for “armed rebellion against the state” and imposed an additional four-year prison sentence for alleged membership in the PJAK, accusations her lawyers have denied. PJAK has been designated as a terrorist organization by Iran, Turkey, and the US.

In addition to these groups, students and a coalition of Kurdish women issued separate statements condemning the death sentences. They also expressed support for the strike, denouncing the treatment of Azizi and Moradi, who are detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, notorious for its harsh conditions and political detentions.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International has condemned Iran’s Supreme Court for upholding Azizi’s death sentence, calling her trial deeply flawed and her punishment unjust. Amnesty said, “Iran’s authorities must halt any plans to carry out her execution and release her immediately,” adding that her conviction appears to be tied to her peaceful humanitarian and human rights work.

In a letter from prison, Azizi has described instances of torture and harassment, including mock executions. Her case has become a focal point for human rights organizations, with many viewing her sentencing as part of a broader pattern of state repression against political dissidents.

According to the US-based rights group HRANA, at least 54 political prisoners, including Azizi, are currently facing execution across various prisons in Iran. Iran has faced increasing international criticism for its widespread use of the death penalty, especially against political prisoners and activists.

The United Nations human rights office reported in January that Iran in 2024 executed 901 people, including 31 women, marking a sharp rise in capital punishment cases.