Iranians divided on possible US-Iran presidential meeting

"In my humble opinion, there is no such thing as a verifiable nuclear peace agreement with the Iranian Regime, who are religious Nazis," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, said on Wednesday.

"The ayatollah and his henchmen are not trustworthy on the nuclear front," the hawkish senator from South Carolina said in a post on his X account.

Earlier in the day, Trump said he "would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper."

"We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!" he said in the post on his Truth Social platform.

Graham, however, said the Islamic Republic's "ambitions to obtain a nuclear weapon are crystal clear based on decades of lies and deceit. When the Iranian Regime says death to Israel and America, they mean it."

Iran has denied seeking a nuclear weapon, but Israel has long contended Tehran wants a bomb and that its arch-enemy poses an existential threat.

"If the main issue is ensuring that Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a difficult matter," Araghchi said.

Trump said on Tuesday he hoped for an agreement denying Iran nuclear weapons.

"They cannot have a nuclear weapon," he told reporters at a press conference held after signing a memorandum to restore his so-called maximum pressure policy against Iran.

"If ... they can convince us that they won't, and I hope they can," Trump continued, "It's actually very easy to do, I think they're going to have an unbelievable future."

The US President's directive on squeezing Tehran on Tuesday seeks to deny Iran nuclear weapons, limit its ballistic missile program and halt support for terrorism.

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, also weighed in on Trump's directive, saying Tehran has not and will never pursue nuclear weapons.

While Tehran has maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, it has accelerated its uranium enrichment to up to 60% — close to the 90% threshold that is considered weapons-grade, according to the UN nuclear watchdog.

The Iranian foreign minister's latest comments did not directly address Trump's sanctions directive but instead appeared to signal Tehran's openness to negotiations on the nuclear issue.

Trump on Wednesday expressed hope for a nuclear agreement, telling reporters that he would be willing to engage in talks with his Iranian counterpart.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said that although a meeting between "two human beings" is not impossible, engaging in talks with Trump is not currently on the Islamic Republic's agenda.

Fatemeh Mohajerani, the spokesperson for the presidential administration, also reacted to the US president's remarks regarding his readiness to negotiate with the Iranian president, saying, "Our country's foreign policy has always been based on a set of fixed principles."

"We follow three key principles: the dignity of the country and its people, wisdom in understanding underlying issues, and expediency. All national matters, particularly relations with other countries, are pursued based on these principles."

Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) did not mention any meetings or immediate negotiations.

'A failed experience'

In his Wednesday remarks, Araghchi dismissed Trump’s renewal the previous day of the so-called maximum pressure strategy of his first term aiming to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero.

"Maximum pressure is a failed experiment, and trying it again will only lead to another failure," Araghchi told Iranian media on Wednesday.

In Trump's first term in office, Iran's oil exports were reduced to near zero by re-imposing sanctions. Under former US President Joe Biden, however, Iran's oil exports increased starting in 2021 as Tehran found ways to circumvent those sanctions.

While signing a sanctions directive on Tuesday to increase pressure on Tehran, Trump was asked about a reported plot by the IRGC, Iran's powerful military and intelligence force, to assassinate him in retaliation for the killing of General Qasem Soleimani.

"If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I've left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated. There won't be anything left," the US President said in response.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei responded to the statement on Wednesday, saying that, “Tehran reserves its right to pursue a legal process for achieving justice regarding the killing of national champions and senior officials to achieve results in domestic and international courts.”

During his first term, in 2020, Trump ordered the killing of Soleimani in Iraq. Soleimani led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and Iran's influence and proxy efforts in the Middle East.

Since then, US authorities have tracked several threats against Trump and former officials linked to Soleimani's assassination.

A threat to Trump’s life from Iran led to heightened security ahead of a July campaign rally in Pennsylvania, where Trump was shot in the ear, according to US officials. At the time, officials stated they did not believe Iran was involved in the assassination attempt. In November 2024, the US Justice Department revealed that an Iranian plot to kill Trump before the presidential election had been thwarted.

“Iran did not plot President-elect Donald Trump’s assassination,” President Masoud Pezeshkian told NBC last month, adding, “All the assassinations and acts of terror we see happening in Europe and elsewhere, can we see the footsteps of Iranian nationals or other nationals?”

Before the President's denial, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's official account on X shared an image of Trump under the shadow of a drone in 2021. The Farsi tweet, which included the word "vengeance" in red, read: "Soleimani's murderer and he who ordered it will have to pay." The post was later deleted.

The following year, the Supreme Leader's website published an animation showing IRGC forces killing Trump on a golf course.

In an interview with Didban Iran website, reformist politician Mahmoud Mirlohi said that Iran must maintain an independent foreign policy and leverage its ties with Russia and China to improve relations with the United States.

"We should not allow Russia to use Iran as a pawn in its dealings with the United States," Mirlohi warned.

He also warned of the potential fallout from Iran's military support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, calling it "a serious cause for concern." He stressed that "Iran's strategic cooperation with Russia should not come at the expense of improving relations with other countries."

Russia is one of the signatories of the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. Negotiations to revive the deal, which had been ongoing for 12 months in Vienna during the US President Joe Biden administration, were abruptly halted in March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Iran and Russia signed a treaty, their first major agreement since 2001, aimed at deepening bilateral ties, though it did not establish a military alliance or impose binding obligations on either side.

"The 20-year strategic cooperation agreement with Russia should not limit Iran's ties with other countries, nor should we allow Russia to use Iran as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with the West," Mirlohi said.

Mirlohi also argued that, historically, Iranians have few positive memories of their relationship with Russia.

"Beyond hostile relations before, during, and after the Qajar era, Russia in recent years has failed to uphold its commitments, including delays in completing the Bushehr nuclear power plant and withholding S-300 air defense systems and Sukhoi SU-35 fighters, despite Iran paying for them in advance. This history has fueled concerns about the recent agreement between Iran and Russia," the politician said.

Mirlohi cautioned that Iran must balance its relations between East and West. He noted that while agreements among BRICS countries, including Russia and Iran, offer opportunities, "we should not expect them to solve all of Iran's problems, as the global banking system remains dependent on Europe and the US." He added that the importance of continued engagement with the EU and the US to protect Iran's interests.

In an interview with Mehr News, Tehran-based economic analyst Albert Boghozian emphasized the importance of trade deals with China and Russia, saying that they could help drive Iran’s economic development.

He said, however, that Tehran's economic ties with Moscow are less significant than those with China.

“We conduct extensive transactions with China, which is seeking new markets. Given the sanctions, we are particularly interested in trade conducted in our partners’ currencies—using roubles for transactions with Russia and yuan for deals with China—since we cannot process payments for imports through Swift,” he told Mehr News.

Boghozian also warned of the risks associated with relying on roubles and yuan due to their lower value compared to the US dollar. “It is risky to hold our foreign currency reserves in these currencies, but it remains our only option for bypassing US sanctions.”

As an example of challenges in trade deals with China and Russia, Iranian media—including the IRGC-linked Fars News Agency—have recently scrutinized the Tehran Municipality's purchase of subway trains from China.

The deal has faced significant delays, prompting Tehran City Council Chairman Mehdi Chamran to urge the press to stop discussing the issue.

While media outlets have criticized the opacity of trade agreements with China, Chamran argued that public debate could make the issue even more complex, adding that Beijing is still in the process of manufacturing the trains Tehran has ordered.

Speaking at a February 3 meeting of top state officials, led by the heads of the three branches of government, President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government is three months behind on some employee payments, while security forces arrest those who protest the delays in the streets.

"We owe them the money, and it is our responsibility to pay them," Pezeshkian said, adding that the government has to solve the people's problems. He further urged everyone at the meeting "to avoid angering the people."

He said some foreign officials continue to claim that "Iran has been badly weakened and protests are imminent," accusing foreign governments of seeking to exploit public unrest.

Pezeshkian noted that "nearly half of eligible voters did not participate in the latest presidential election, but we are still responsible for serving and addressing the demands of all citizens, including those who did not vote." He acknowledged that while the government aims to serve the people, "they are not satisfied with the way we work," according to Aftab News.

At the same time, Mohammad Hashemi, an influential centrist politician, pointed out that only Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei can authorize Iranian officials to negotiate with the United States to reach a deal on reducing sanctions.

Meanwhile, Iran's state-run news channel aired remarks from both President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament (Majles) Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf, in which they said they "regret that the people are facing so many financial difficulties." However, some Iranian media outlets, including the state-owned ISNA news agency, only reported portions of their speeches that omitted references to the country's dire economic situation.

Politicians outside the government, including former lawmaker Ali Motahari also echoed Ghalibaf's comment about the dire situation of the economy.

The conservative website Nameh News quoted Pezeshkian as saying at the meeting, "We are duty-bound to solve the people's problems, and if we cannot, we must apologize. Instead, when we fail to pay our debts to them, we mistreat them and send them to jail. These people have worked hard and simply want to be paid for their labor. At the very least, we should speak to them with respect and ask for more time to fulfill our obligations."

Nameh News also quoted Pezeshkian as saying, "Iran's economic situation is unacceptable. Prices are high, people are under pressure, and we cannot fully resolve the crisis, as part of the solution is beyond our control."

Pezeshkian was likely referring to the fact that only Khamenei can authorize negotiations with the United States as a possible step toward addressing Iran's economic problems. The way the heads of the government's branches spoke about the issue on state TV suggests they were making a similar point, possibly attempting to persuade Khamenei to soften his stance on negotiations.

In an interview with the centrist daily Arman Melli, Mohammad Hashemi, a former chief of state television, emphasized that "negotiations with the United States are important for Iran, and only Khamenei, as Supreme Leader, can authorize Iranian officials to participate." He added that "the views of hardliners influenced by the ultraconservative Paydary Party will not determine the fate of the negotiations."

Meanwhile, Iranian media quoted a deputy intelligence minister as saying, "Iran will not negotiate with the United States, as those seeking talks want Iran to retreat from its positions or passively witness the collapse of its political system."