Senior cleric urges trust in God over foreign powers in US talks
A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday that trust in the country’s nuclear negotiations should be placed only in God, not in foreign powers.
“Don’t tie your hearts to anyone but God in these negotiations,” said Ahmad Khatami, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader. “Negotiations do not matter, put your trust in the one who has always shown kindness to us.”
Speaking during Friday prayers, Khatami said the ongoing indirect talks with the United States are limited strictly to the nuclear file. “There have been no talks beyond the nuclear issue – and there won’t be,” he said.
"In the negotiations, we have three red lines: enrichment, defense and missile issues, and regional presence," he added.
Khatami said, "Trump said in his book that negotiations should be based on fear and intimidation: we are not people who are afraid."
He also said the decision to engage in indirect negotiations was consistent with Quranic guidance, provided it is done from a position of strength.
Some Iranian media appear frustrated with unreliable and contradictory reports on the ongoing Iran-US negotiations, while the official narrative has struggled to gain traction with the public.
On Thursday, the moderate conservative outlet Khabar Online questioned the credibility of reports based on unnamed "informed sources," describing such coverage as “destructive” and driven by factional interests. The website criticized “political celebrities” who allegedly fabricate news to maintain their public profile and called out media outlets publishing such content as “unprofessional.”
In particular, Khabar Online targeted Tehran Times, a hardline English-language daily, for its report ahead of the Oman talks, which quoted anonymous sources as claiming the Americans were only wasting time. The article labeled Tehran Times’ reporting as "irrelevant." The same paper also quoted a source who said the US had no intention of holding constructive negotiations with Iran—an assertion later contradicted by both Tehran and Washington, which described the talks as “positive and constructive.”
Tehran Times is affiliated with the Islamic Propagation Office, a body dominated by hardliners. During the 2014–2015 negotiations that led to the nuclear deal, similar tactics were observed. Press TV, Iran’s English-language state news channel, frequently aired misleading stories intended to undermine the talks. At the time, Press TV was headed by Peyman Jebelli—now the head of state broadcasting, overseeing dozens of Persian and foreign-language channels that continue to distort news about the current negotiations.
Back then, deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi publicly criticized Press TV’s reliance on so-called informed sources, saying: “Whoever gives fake news to Press TV as an 'informed source' is certainly not an informed person.” Later, former presidential chief of staff Mahmoud Vaezi blamed Ali Shamkhani and Nour News, a media outlet linked to him, for deliberately trying to derail the talks. Shamkhani was then serving as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
He and his family have been implicated with involvement in operations to sell Iranian oil in contravention of current US sanctions.
More recently, conservative commentator Mohammad Mohajeri remarked that “around 90 percent of what is attributed to 'informed sources' is fabricated.” He added that such individuals often blend truth with fiction and lack the courage to identify themselves.
Media activists in Iran have long accused state television and hardline outlets like the Kayhan daily—closely linked to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei—of manipulating the news. As a result, public trust has eroded. According to several domestic and international surveys, Iranians now rely more heavily on social media and foreign-based Persian-language broadcasters for news.
Amid this credibility gap, some officials have sought to exploit the confusion. Following widespread rumors on social media that Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi had taken a valuable golden pen from the negotiating table in Oman, he dismissed the story days later as a fabrication by foreign-based opposition groups. But by then, the narrative had already taken root and spread widely.
A similar pattern emerged in the episode surrounding the change of venue for the second round of talks—from Oman to Rome. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei initially reacted with a post on X accusing the US of lacking seriousness and commitment. Days later, Gharibabadi attempted to downplay the shift, calling it a “minor development.” But by then, the damage was done. The episode also revealed what Iranian officials appeared keen to conceal: that it was the United States, not Iran, that ultimately determined the venue of the talks.
Iran’s ties with Russia are stronger than ever and have reached an unprecedented level of closeness, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday.
“Ties between Iran and Russia may never have been this close and strong in our history,” Araghchi said during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, according to Iranian media.
Araghchi said he had delivered a written message from Iran’s Supreme Leader to President Vladimir Putin during a lengthy meeting the day before, describing Russia as Iran’s main strategic partner.
He also referred to the recently signed comprehensive strategic agreement between the two countries, calling it a foundation for deepened cooperation and a long-term roadmap for bilateral ties.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi enter a hall during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025.
An Iranian lawmaker said President Donald Trump’s threats and contradictory positions led to indirect talks between Tehran and Washington, despite Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei having allowed negotiations.
“The Supreme Leader allowed the negotiations, but because of Trump’s contradictory positions and the threats he raised, the talks happened indirectly,” said Mohammad Mahdi Shahriari, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
Shahriari said the talks should be approached with rationality and based on the national interest, not political factionalism. He expressed hope that the next round, scheduled for Saturday, would bring positive results.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday reflected the “unprecedented dynamics” of political dialogue between the two countries.
“Yesterday, there was a long and substantive conversation with the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. He was very pleased with the discussion,” Lavrov said during a press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday.
“The meeting underlined the unprecedented dynamics of our political dialogue,” he added.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shows the way to Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025.
