Iran’s leadership on Tuesday made cautious hints at diplomatic efforts in its deadlocked confrontation with the United States, while showing no willingness to make quick concessions.
“Diplomacy does not mean capitulation but turning strength on the ground into political achievements,” chief negotiator and parliamentary speakers Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf said in Tehran, Iranian media reported.
Ghalibaf, considered a conservative pragmatist, appeared to be striking a more conciliatory tone. By contrast, hardliners in Iran’s leadership have recently appeared confident and willing to risk military escalation.
Ghalibaf, however, gave no indication that Tehran was prepared to swiftly soften Iran’s demands.
Addressing US President Donald Trump, he said: “He must know that he cannot impose his power on the Iranian people and the armed forces.”
Pezeshkian in New York
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in New York for the UN General Assembly, where he is due to deliver a speech on Wednesday.
Observers have also speculated about possible meetings between the Iranian delegation and mediators or US government representatives.
Prominent Iranian cleric and opposition politician Mehdi Karrubi, who spent years under house arrest, called on Pezeshkian to meet Trump, who is also in New York, “provided the conditions are right.”
The Iranian government must have the courage to overcome taboos of its own making, the 88-year-old former parliamentary speaker wrote in a letter to Pezeshkian, according to the reformist Ensafnews news portal.
“Although we know that the other side is not trustworthy in the conventional sense, there is no other way but to pursue the path of diplomacy,” Karrubi wrote.
“Diplomacy is not a sign of weakness, but the height of reason and the strength of a people who believe in themselves,” he added.
More than six months ago, the US and Israel began their war against Iran. The conflict is now focused mainly on the Strait of Hormuz, where commercial shipping has slowed to a trickle.
While the US is seeking to force Iran to capitulate and reopen the key waterway through sanctions and a naval blockade, Tehran’s leadership is counting on economic pressure from rising energy prices in the West.