Khamenei Greenlights Iran-U.S. Talks, Will Trump?  

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has officially sanctioned direct diplomatic engagement between Iran and the United States, framing his authorization within his characteristic anti-imperialist rhetoric. However, Iranian officials and commentary in domestic media suggest Washington has been unresponsive. 

• January 28: Addressing foreign ambassadors to Tehran on his official website, Khamenei implicitly endorsed diplomatic engagement with the United States: 
  • “Their diplomatic smirks cover their enmity and hatred, their evil nature. We must open our eyes and be vigilant with whom we are dealing and with whom we are talking. When you know your counterpart, you can indeed make deals, but you should know what you are doing.” He continued that Iran should recognize it for what it is and “be aware.”  
• January 29: In response to a question from a journalist at the reformist Entekhab News Agency, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said:  
  • “No, we have not received any message” from Washington. 
• January 29: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reinforced the president’s assertion in a short interview with the same Entekhab reporter saying:  
  •  “Trump has not sent any specific message concerning negotiations. This is just merely speculation. We are engaged in talks with European countries.” 
• January 29: Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Hamid-Reza Haji-Babaei in an interview by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported by centrist Fararu News Agency, echoed a position of conditional engagement:  
  • “We harbor no enmity against the United States. We are in favor of just negotiations.”  
• January 30: Former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking at a conference hosted by the Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies in Tehran, offered a pragmatic reassessment of Iran’s strategic posture, as quoted by the reformist Kargozaran Party’s Sazandegi newspaper:  
  • “I agree with our friends here that Iran’s foreign policy starts with the region, but we must get rid of an irritant to Iran’s foreign policy.” He continued that, hostility toward “the United States is not an opportunity for Iran’s foreign policy. It has shackled the feet of Iran’s foreign policy. As I explained in my latest book, we should not define our relations with Africa and Europe in the framework of a fight with the United States. In such a fight, nobody will take our side. We are not in need of having cordial relations with the United States, but we must see to it that when others have relations with us, they will not be entangled in a fight with the United States. If they do, they will not choose to have relations with us, something we witness now.” 
• January 30: Reformist Shargh newspaper analyzed Tehran’s growing diplomatic “frustrations” over the “unresponsive West,” despite overtures from the Iranian leadership:  
  • The deputy foreign minister for political affairs, “Majid Takht-Ravanchi declared Iran’s readiness to discuss the nuclear issue with the West … Before that, Mohammad Javad Zarif signaled Iran’s willingness while attending Davos” for the World Economic Forum. He continued, “Even before this, President Pezeshkian did something similar … and Foreign Minister Araghchi … and Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref have indicated ‘There is no other salvation for the country but through negotiations’ … The West, however, is not responding to signals from Tehran, which increases the political cost for proponents of engagement in Iran.”  
  • Rasoul Nahavandi, an academic quoted by Shargh, said: “The new administration’s foreign policy, military, and security Cabinet has not been fully formed, and the second Trump administration is busy with bigger issues … However, unresponsiveness of the new U.S. administration may be intentional.” 

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