Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on Tuesday that Iran was entering direct negotiations with the United States, after weeks in which President Donald Trump's administration has threatened military action against Tehran following the bloody crackdown on protests against the regime in the Islamic Republic.
In his announcement, Pezeshkian sought to stress that the decision to engage in talks was not made under American pressure and conditioned the continuation of the negotiations on what he described as "an atmosphere free of threats."
"In light of requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal of the president of the United States for negotiations, I have instructed my foreign minister, provided that an appropriate environment exists, free of threats and unreasonable expectations, to conduct fair and equal negotiations guided by the principles of respect, prudence and effectiveness," Pezeshkian wrote on the social media platform X.
"These negotiations will be conducted within the framework of our national interests," the Iranian president emphasized.
Pezeshkian's remarks come amid reports that Tehran would be willing to make a significant concession on its nuclear project in exchange for the removal of the American threat of military action on Iranian soil. The talks announced by Pezeshkian are scheduled to take place on Friday in Istanbul, with representatives of President Trump in attendance.
The reports were denied on Monday by a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said Tehran would not give up uranium enrichment.
