Iran's First Official Reaction to Trump's Readiness for Negotiation

In the first official reaction to Donald Trump's proposal for negotiation, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry said: "Negotiation has conditions and requirements that have not been seen in Mr. Trump's words and actions so far." Bahram Qasemi on Tuesday, August 1, also described the statements of the U.S. Secretary of State following the President's remarks as a sign of "confusion and disorder in U.S. foreign policy." He added: "We must see if the U.S. President, after being frustrated by unproductive rhetoric, has decided to abandon the language of threats against the Iranian people." The spokesperson emphasized that dialogue requires "mutual respect and adherence to international commitments," and sanctions and pressure are the opposite of that. Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran's Minister of Interior, also reacted to Trump's proposal, referring to the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, stating that the country is "not trustworthy." He added: "On one hand, they say pressure should be applied to Iran to accept new commitments, and on the other hand, they talk about unconditional negotiations." The implicit rejection of Trump's proposal by Iran's Foreign Ministry comes as some political figures suggested that Tehran should not outright reject the proposal and should set conditions for negotiations, such as the U.S. returning to the JCPOA. The U.S. President announced on Monday his readiness to meet with Iranian leaders and stated that he has "no conditions" in this regard. However, hours later, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, said: "If the Iranians show that they are willing to make fundamental changes in how they treat their own people, reduce their destructive behavior in the region, and accept that it is worthwhile to enter into an agreement that truly prevents the proliferation of nuclear weapons, then the President has said he is ready to sit down and talk with them." The cautious reaction of political figures Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri, a member of the Expediency Council, regarding Trump's negotiation proposal stated that the Islamic Republic should not reject negotiations but should "reflect" and not be "flustered and overjoyed" by this proposal. He added: "Trump may take advantage of this excitement and may be testing us." Mr. Nategh Nouri also speculated that the visit of Yusuf bin Alawi, the Omani Foreign Minister, to the U.S. and possibly Iran might be for mediation between the two countries. Bahram Qasemi had previously denied reports that the Omani Foreign Minister's visit to Washington was aimed at mediating between Iran and the U.S. On Tuesday, he also stated that reports from some media about the imminent visit of the Omani Foreign Minister to Tehran are "incorrect and lack a real basis." He emphasized that "so far, no contact has been made through official and diplomatic channels for the necessary conventional coordination for this visit." The Omani Foreign Minister also stated in an interview with Al Jazeera that the purpose of his visit to the U.S. was not to mediate between Washington and Tehran, but his country is ready to play such a role. He had met and discussed with Mike Pompeo on Monday. Meanwhile, Kamal Kharrazi, head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, regarding Trump's proposal said that "Trump loves meetings for the sake of meetings and does not think much about the results of his meetings and his contradictory statements." He emphasized that Donald Trump "must first compensate for the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and show respect for the commitments of his predecessors and international laws." On the other hand, Hamid Abutalebi, Deputy Political Chief of the Iranian President's Office, wrote on Twitter that "respect for the great Iranian nation, reduction of hostilities, and the U.S. return to the JCPOA are the pathways to overcoming the current rocky path." He emphasized that the JCPOA is "the result of commitment to dialogue; it must be accepted." Mohammad Sadra, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran in the Khatami administration, also said that Trump's goal in proposing negotiations with Iran was to say, "I was ready to negotiate, but the Iranian side did not accept." He suggested that to "neutralize his plot," the Islamic Republic should not reject this proposal and state that Mr. Trump must first "declare that he made a mistake by exiting the JCPOA and accept the JCPOA." Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament, also stated that "negotiation should not become a taboo in Iran-U.S. relations." He added: "The management of Iran-U.S. disputes is in the hands of third parties, and as long as a communication red line is not established between the two sides, the national interests of Tehran and Washington will be a plaything for others who benefit from the escalation of the crisis between these two regional and global powers." Some members of the Iranian Parliament have also reacted to Trump's negotiation proposal. Ali Motahari, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, announced that under current conditions, negotiations between Iran and the U.S. are "accompanied by humiliation and disgrace and are inappropriate." He added: "It would have been better for us to conduct relations and negotiations with the U.S. during Obama's time and solve many problems with his administration." The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, however, considered "negotiation under fair conditions and accompanied by mutual respect" to be beneficial. Mostafa Kaveh Kabi, a member of the reformist "Hope" faction of Parliament, also stated that currently, the conditions for negotiations between Iran and the U.S. do not exist because in this situation "any form of negotiation will be perceived as surrender, and the Iranian nation is unyielding." He added: "Perhaps at some point conditions will arise where we are not opposed, but undoubtedly today we cannot do this." Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear agreement with Iran known as the JCPOA on May 8 of this year and stated that he would reinstate Washington's sanctions against Tehran. Mr. Trump has called this agreement "ridiculous" and "the worst deal" and stated that he is seeking a good agreement for Iran, the U.S., and the world.