Artist: Behnam Mohammadi
By Kayhan Life Staff
Tehran’s decision to engage with the US in talks about its nuclear program caused confusion this week. While US President Donald Trump suggested those talks would be direct, the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, insisted any discussions would be indirect.
This mixed messaging reflects the Iranian regime’s need to maintain credibility among its hardline supporters, who are convinced by Ayatollah Khamenei’s earlier directive that engagement with the US is “unwise, unintelligent, and not honorable.”
Tehran’s shift in its approach to engaging with the US, either directly or indirectly, comes in response to repeated threats from Trump to use military force if the Iranian government does not negotiate. This about-turn is also influenced by ongoing sanctions, a weakened axis of resistance, the loss of key ally Bashar Al-Assad in Syria, a declining currency, and a struggling economy.
