Egypt Daily News – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with recent talks with the United States, but warned that they may ultimately prove unproductive.
Tehran and Washington are scheduled to hold a new round of talks in Muscat on Saturday, a week after high-level discussions between senior officials—the most significant since the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who withdrew from the deal during his first term, reinstated a policy of “maximum pressure” after returning to the White House in January.
In March, Trump sent a letter to Khamenei offering negotiations but also threatened military action against Iran if the diplomatic path failed.
According to state TV, Khamenei said that the talks last Saturday “went well in their initial steps. Of course, we are very pessimistic about the other side, but we are optimistic about our own capabilities.”
However, he added that “the negotiations may or may not lead to results.”
Despite the severance of diplomatic ties between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, both sides have described the talks as “constructive.”
Iran insists the discussions remain “indirect” and are being mediated by Oman.
Trump threatens
On Monday, Trump again threatened to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if no agreement is reached, stating that the Iranian authorities are “extremists” and should not possess nuclear weapons.
Tehran denies seeking to develop an atomic bomb, insisting its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, particularly energy production.
Khamenei said, “Iran’s red lines are clear,” without giving details.
Earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) affirmed that the country’s military capabilities are non-negotiable.
IRGC spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naeini, quoted by the Iranian broadcasting authority IRIB, said, “National security, defense, and military strength are red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran and cannot be negotiated under any circumstances.”
On Monday, U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Whitcoff, who led the talks in Oman with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said Iran must return to uranium enrichment levels of 3.67%, the maximum allowed under the 2015 nuclear deal.
He added that any agreement on Iran’s nuclear program “will largely depend on verifying the enrichment program.”
He emphasized that verifying the militarization potential of Iran’s nuclear program is a “key” point in negotiations, stating, “This includes missiles… and bomb triggers.”
Red lines
In its latest quarterly report published in February, the IAEA estimated that Iran now possesses 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60%, far exceeding the 3.67% cap set by the 2015 deal—bringing it closer to the 90% enrichment needed for weapons-grade material.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi is expected to visit Iran on Wednesday.
On Sunday evening, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported that Tehran’s regional influence and missile capabilities were among its “red lines” in the talks.
Tehran backs the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza, and Shiite armed factions in Iraq.
Iran has long approached talks with the United States with caution, citing a history of mistrust.
In 2015, Tehran and six world powers—including the U.S., Russia, and China—signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which placed restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
In 2018, during Trump’s first term, Washington withdrew from the deal and reimposed harsh sanctions on Tehran. Iran remained committed to the deal for another year before beginning to scale back its compliance.
In his speech, Khamenei said Iran should not pin its hopes on progress in the negotiations.
“At that time (during the JCPOA), we tied everything to the progress of the talks. That mistake should not be repeated here,” he said.
