Iran has signaled that it is open to talks about its nuclear program with the United States if they are restricted to military concerns, a day after the country’s supreme leader had appeared to reject an overture from President Trump to hold discussions.
“If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a social media post on Sunday.
It was unclear if the comments represented a shift in policy after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader who has ultimate authority in such matters, issued an angry statement following Mr. Trump’s offer last week to restart talks.
In a social media post on Saturday, Mr. Khamenei decried “bullying governments” that seek to impose restrictions on Iran. The remarks did not refer directly to Mr. Trump or his offer. The president had warned that Tehran would have to choose between curbing its nuclear program or risk losing it in a military attack
Experts say Iran is at the threshold of being able to enrich enough uranium to produce a nuclear weapon. The Islamic republic says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran’s U.N. mission said that “negotiations will never take place” if their aim is to dismantle Tehran’s “peaceful nuclear program.”
The apparently conflicting remarks may reflect a split among Iranian officials about whether to re-enter talks after Mr. Trump, during his first term as president, withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal struck with Tehran by his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Some moderate and reformist Iranian leaders, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office last year, have said they want to begin discussions. Mr. Khamenei, however, has the final say and has said that Iran cannot trust the United States.
Mr. Trump’s offer comes as the strategic environment for Iran has deteriorated substantially.
Israel has severely weakened Tehran’s regional proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, and destroyed almost all the air defenses protecting Iran’s nuclear facilities. In December, a rebel coalition toppled Syria’s former authoritarian ruler, Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Tehran.
Some senior Israeli officials have argued that there will never be a better moment to strike at Iran’s major nuclear facilities.