Trump-Iran latest: US president says nuclear talks in progress with Tehran and warns of ‘bad things’ if they fail – UK Times

Iran’s president says he has directed his foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” in his meeting with Trump’s envoy.

Writing on X, Masoud Pezeshkian said in English and Farsi that the decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the proposal by the President of the United States for negotiations.”

“I have instructed my Minister of Foreign Affairs, provided that a suitable environment exists – one free from threats and unreasonable expectations – to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence, and expediency,” he said.

The comments mark a major turn for Pezeshkian, who has warned Iranians for weeks that the turmoil in his country had gone beyond his control.

It also signals that the president received support from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the talks, something that the 86-year-old cleric had previously dismissed.

Iran’s leadership fears that a US military strike could shatter its grip on power by driving an already furious public back onto the streets, following last month’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, according to six current and former officials.

In high-level meetings, officials warned supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that public anger has reached a point where fear is no longer a deterrent, and that even a limited US strike could embolden protesters and inflict lasting damage on the political system.

“An attack combined with demonstrations by angry people could lead to a collapse (of the ruling system). That is the main concern among the top officials and that is what our enemies want,” said one official told Reuters.

Another former senior official said the mood in the country had shifted since the crackdown. “People are extremely angry. The wall of fear has collapsed,” he said.

Officials said many Iranians were prepared to confront security forces again, raising concerns that foreign pressure combined with renewed protests could trigger widespread unrest or even collapse.

While the streets remain quiet for now, insiders say grievances over repression, economic decline and corruption continue to simmer.

Iran is willing to shut down or suspend its nuclear programme, a major concession to calm the situation with the US, two officials told the New York Times.

The unnamed officials said envoy Steve Witkoff would meet with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and the two are communicating directly through text messages.

But Iran would still prefer a proposal that the US made last year, to create a regional consortium to produce nuclear power, over shutting down its nuclear programme.

The officials said Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, had recently met Russian president Vladimir Putin to deliver a message from supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that Iran could agree to ship its enriched uranium to Russia, as it did under the 2015 agreement.

When asked about it, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, said on Monday that “the topic has long been on the agenda,” adding that “Russia continues its efforts and contacts with all interested parties.”

Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for energy generation, not weapons, and Mr Araghchi has said the country remains open to negotiations.

“We have never lost the opportunity to get the rights of Iranian people through diplomacy,” he told foreign ministry staff in a video shared on Monday on social media.

US president Donald Trump said Monday that talks with Iran were ongoing amid high tensions.

“We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones – the biggest and the best – and we have talks going on with Iran and we’ll see how it all works out,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“If we can work something out, that would be great and if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.

“I’d like to see a deal negotiated. I don’t know that that’s going to happen,” he added.

An Iranian protester who went missing earlier last month has been found dead in the cold storage of a cemetery, according to Iran International.

Reza Bahmani Alijanvand, 34, was allegedly shot dead by security forces, with bullets hitting his lower back and abdomen, it reported, citing sources.

His family searched hospitals, police stations and prisons across Isfahan province for five days before finding his body in cold storage at Bagh-e Rezvan cemetery on 13 January.

Authorities initially refused to release the body and sought to declare him a “martyr” – a move rejected by the family – before he was buried under heavy security in the early hours of 15 January in his hometown of Masjed Soleyman, with only five relatives present.

Last month, Iran International reported that more than 36,500 people were killed by security forces during the 8-9 January crackdown on nationwide protests.

Iran’s top diplomat has said the government is ready to enter negotiations with the US as the two sides are reportedly preparing to dispatch senior envoys to Istanbul for high-stakes talks on Iran’s nuclear programme this week.

The comments come as US warships and aircraft have amassed in the region amid speculation over a possible strike on Iran.

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi suggested that talks could take place imminently.

“[Iran’s enemies] are talking about diplomacy today, even though Iran has always been ready for this option, provided there is mutual respect and consideration of interests,” he said

US president Donald Trump said on Saturday that Iranians were “seriously talking to us”, hinting at a potential deal to avert military action against Tehran. Asked on Monday about the prospects for an agreement, Trump told reporters at the White House that discussions were underway.

“We have ships heading to Iran right now, big ones – the biggest and the best – and we have talks going on with Iran and we’ll see how it all works out,” he said. “If we can work something out, that would be great. And if we can’t, probably bad things would happen.”

Iran and the United States will resume nuclear talks on Friday in Turkey, Iranian and U.S. officials told Reuters on Monday, and U.S. President Donald Trump warned that with big U.S. warships heading to Iran, bad things would probably happen if a deal could not be reached.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will meet in Istanbul in an effort to revive diplomacy over a long-running dispute about Iran’s nuclear programme and dispel fears of a new regional war, while a regional diplomat said representatives from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt would also participate.

Editorial: A misstep by America in the Middle East could be catastrophic, so it needs to seek a resolution through negotiation: