Iran’s foreign minister is vowing that ‘the doors of diplomacy will never slam shut’ following the Trump administration’s airstrikes — a statement an Iran expert says shows that Tehran is trying to buy time.
Abbas Araghchi was quoted as making the remark to CBS News after President Donald Trump told reporters last Wednesday that the U.S. would meet with Iranian officials this week.
‘I don’t think negotiations will restart as quickly as that,’ Araghchi added. ‘In order for us to decide to reengage, we will have to first ensure that America will not revert back to targeting us in a military attack during the negotiations. And I think with all these considerations, we still need more time.’
Behnam Ben Taleblu, the senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Iran Program, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that ‘Tehran’s strongest weapon when it is weak is actually diplomacy.
‘Negotiating to buy time and bail out the regime is an art form for Iranian political elites. Even when done from a position of weakness, one reason Tehran will not shut the door on talks is because it seeks to prevent widening military action from stiffening the spine of domestic dissidents at home.
‘No doubt, the Islamic Republic will cause a ruckus about engaging in negotiations post-strike, but ultimately agreeing to talk when it has been conventionally bested on the battlefield does mean its mission accomplished,’ Taleblu added.
Trump said following the conclusion of a NATO summit in the Netherlands last week that ‘I could get a statement’ that Iran is ‘not going to go nuclear.’
‘We’re probably going to ask for that… but they’re not going to be doing it anyway. They’ve had it,’ Trump added.
‘We’re going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know. To me, I don’t think it’s that necessary. I mean, they had a war. They fought. Now they’re going back to their world. I don’t care if I have an agreement or not. The only thing we would be asking for is what we’re asking for before about, we want no nuclear [program]. But we destroyed the nuclear,’ Trump also said.
‘If we got a document, it wouldn’t be bad. We’re going to meet with them. Actually, we’re going to meet with them,’ the president continued.
However, Trump then wrote on Truth Social Monday that he is not talking to Iran.
‘The administration and namely our special envoy, Steve Witkoff, has been in communication both directly and indirectly with the Iranians. That communication continues. The president himself has not talked to Iran, which he pointed out in his Truth statement,’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added later Monday.