Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sought yesterday to play down expectations of a breakthrough in nuclear talks with the US, following stirrings of hope among some Iranians weary of economic hardships that have at times sparked public unrest.
Failure to reach a deal with President Donald Trump to end Iran’s decades-long dispute with the West could profoundly hurt the Islamic Republic, Iranian politicians and insiders have said, even if Washington is subsequently portrayed by Tehran as the guilty party.
After last weekend’s US-Iran talks in Oman, which both sides described as positive, Iranian expectations of economic relief have soared, according to Iranians reached by telephone and by messages posted by Iranians on social media.
A second round of nuclear talks will be held in Muscat on Saturday.
Iran’s battered rial currency has gained some 20 per cent against the dollar in the past few days, with many Iranians hoping a deal to end Iran’s economic isolation may be within reach.
“We are neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic regarding them. After all, it is a process which was decided and its first steps have been well implemented,” Khamenei said in a meeting with officials, according to state media.
White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, who leads the talks with Iran, said that Trump has asked him to “create a tough, fair deal that will endure.”
“Any final arrangement must set a framework for peace, stability, and prosperity in the Middle East – meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponisation programme,” Witkoff posted on X yesterday.
Iran’s clerical rulers have publicly said that demands such as dismantling the country’s peaceful nuclear programme or its conventional missile capabilities were off the table.
Tehran has approached the talks warily, doubting the likelihood of an agreement and suspicious of Trump, who abandoned Tehran’s 2015 nuclear pact with six world powers during his first term in 2018. He has repeatedly threatened to use military force if there is no deal.
“From here on, it (the talks) must be followed through carefully, with red lines clearly defined for both the other side and for us. The negotiations may lead to results, or they may not,” said Khamenei.
“Avoid linking the country’s fate to these talks.”
Some Iranian officials have suggested that Trump’s business background could make him more receptive to a deal if it includes economic incentives, such as a potential purchase of US-made planes or unlocking of Iran’s economy for US investors.
But a number of Iranian newspapers have warned about inflating public expectations with “baseless hype”.
“Why do you make promises about the talks that cannot be fulfilled? ... Don’t undermine public trust with promises made only for fleeting media attention,” wrote the Khorasan newspaper, in response to comments by an official that raised hopes of economic breakthroughs from the talks.
Since relations with Washington collapsed after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the US-backed Shah, enmity toward the US has been a rallying point for Iran’s rulers.
But inflation, unemployment and lack of investment as a result of crippling sanctions, reimposed after Trump ditched the 2015 nuclear pact, persuaded Khamenei to support talks with the Trump administration.
Tehran’s concerns were exacerbated by Trump’s speedy revival of his first term’s “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at driving Iran’s oil exports towards zero with more sanctions.
Since 2019, Iran has far surpassed its uranium enrichment limits, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Tehran is producing stocks of fissile purity well above what Western powers say is justifiable for a civilian energy programme and close to weapons grade.
Tehran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons.
“What Tehran wants in return (from the US) is for sanctions to be removed on several sectors. Once those sanctions are removed, the US cannot bring them back under other pretexts,” the state-run Tehran Times newspaper reported.
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