The United States is actively seeking direct and confidential negotiations with Iran, according to the same diplomatic source.
The clock is ticking for Iran to shut down its nuclear program.
“The Trump administration is trying to reach an agreement with Iran before October. However, if this agreement is not achieved, the region will face a serious crisis,” a European diplomat tells Dubai based Al-Hadath.
But behind the scenes, American officials are pushing for a diplomatic solution. The United States is actively seeking direct and confidential negotiations with Iran, according to the same diplomatic source.
“Maybe they are trying to get new defense as we speak but their defense is largely gone… Iran is very nervous. I think they’re scared. I would love to make a deal with them without bombing them,” Trump stated during a recent Fox News appearance.
“Everybody thinks Israel with our help or our approval will go in and bomb the hell out of them,” he said. “I would prefer that not happen. I’d much rather see a deal with Iran where we can do a deal, supervise, check it, inspect it.”
Despite dismissing rumors of joint military action with Israel, Trump is tightening the economic screws. On February 4, he signed an executive order reviving his “maximum pressure policy” aimed at strangling Iran’s oil exports.
Once bolstered by sophisticated Russian air defense systems, Iran now finds itself exposed after Israeli strikes last October reportedly destroyed its remaining S-300 missile installations.
Tehran has categorically denied any such reports.
“The reality is that in war, clashes happen. But the idea that our defense system has weakened or, as some ignorant individuals say, has been destroyed, is absolutely false,” said Brigadier General Mahdi Farahi as quoted by Iran International.
“Our defense system, in terms of deployment, diversity, and capabilities, has not only not weakened but has become even stronger since before the Zionist regime’s aggression.”
Meanwhile, Iran’s nuclear ambitions are becoming an increasingly open topic of discussion within the country. The shift became apparent in late October 2024 after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ newspaper made waves by calling for Iran to rethink its nuclear strategy, citing Israel’s use of “devastating military technology to establish a new order.”
The debate spread quickly. A week later, 39 members of parliament sent a letter to the Supreme National Security Council pushing for the same reassessment.
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