A senior Iranian official has floated the idea of productive US talks, provided they stay grounded in reality and skip unrealistic asks. Ali Shamkhani, key advisor to Supreme Leader Khamenei and head of the Defense Council, laid this out in a recent Al Jazeera interview.
The comments, published Friday, coincide with restarted indirect nuclear discussions. Oman hosted the initial session on February 6, marking a potential thaw in long-frozen relations.
Stability in West Asia demands avoiding provocative steps, Shamkhani argued. He highlighted diplomacy’s role in easing strains and paving ways for political fixes.
Iran’s missile capabilities? Off-limits for negotiation, he declared—a sacred red line. Aggressors would face swift, measured retaliation, he cautioned.
Israel lacks the guts for solo action against Iran, Shamkhani claimed, needing American cover. With Iran’s defenses sky-high, foes risk devastating fallout from poor judgments.
This comes as US-Iran frictions simmer, bolstered by Washington’s regional troop buildups. Diplomacy soldiers on, though. President Pezeshkian recently reiterated Iran’s nuclear stance: no capitulation to undue pressures, open to checks, but purely civilian aims.