In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Iran’s supreme leader opened the door on Tuesday (August 27, 2024) to renewed negotiations with the United States over his country’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, telling its civilian government there was “no harm” in engaging with its “enemy.”

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks set clear red lines for any talks taking place under the government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and renewed his warnings that Washington wasn’t to be trusted.

But his comments mirror those around the time of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran’s nuclear program greatly curtailed in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Yet it remains unclear just how much room Mr. Pezeshkian will have to manoeuvre, particularly as tensions remain high in West Asia over the Israel-Hamas war and as the U.S. prepares for a presidential election in November.

“This does not mean that we cannot interact with the same enemy in certain situations,” Khamenei said, according to a transcript on his official website. “There is no harm in that, but do not place your hopes in them.”

Mr. Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, also warned Mr. Pezeshkian’s Cabinet, “Do not trust the enemy.”

Mr. Khamenei, 85, has occasionally urged talks or dismissed them with Washington after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018.

There have been indirect talks between Iran and the U.S. in recent years mediated by Oman and Qatar, two of the United States’ West Asia interlocutors when it comes to Iran. Mr. Khamenei’s remarks came a day after Qatar’s Prime Minister visited the country.

Asked for comment, the U.S. State Department told The Associated Press: “We will judge Iran’s leadership by their actions, not their words.”

“We have long said that we ultimately view diplomacy as the best way to achieve an effective, sustainable solution with regard to Iran’s nuclear program,” it said. “However, we are far away from anything like that right now given Iran’s escalations across the board, including its nuclear escalations and its failure to cooperate” with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog.

“If Iran wants to demonstrate seriousness or a new approach, they should stop nuclear escalations and start meaningfully cooperating with the IAEA,” it said.

Since the deal’s collapse, Iran has abandoned all limits that the deal put on its program, and enriches uranium to up to 60% purity — near weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Surveillance cameras installed by the IAEA have been disrupted, while Iran has barred some of the Vienna-based agency’s most experienced inspectors. Iranian officials also have increasingly threatened that they could pursue atomic weapons.

Meanwhile, tensions between Iran and Israel have hit a new high during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. Tehran launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel in April after years of a shadow war between the two countries reached a climax with Israel’s apparent attack on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed two Iranian generals and others.

The assassination in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh also prompted Iran to threaten to retaliate against Israel.

Mr. Pezeshkian, a former lawmaker who won the presidency after a May helicopter crash killed hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, campaigned in part on a promise to reengage the West with negotiations. Mr. Khamenei’s remarks as Iran’s paramount leader could provide him with the political cover to do so. Mr. Pezeshkian’s new Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, was deeply involved in negotiations on the 2015 deal.

“After doing everything we can, a tactical retreat might sometimes be necessary, but we should not abandon our goals or opinions at the first sign of difficulty,” Mr. Khameini also said Tuesday, the second time in recent days he’s referred to a “tactical retreat” amid the tensions.

However, it’s not just Iran that’s facing a new presidency. The U.S. will hold a presidential election on Nov. 5, with Vice President Kamala Harris and Mr. Trump as the leading candidates. Iran has been concerned about Trump’s return to power.

While the U.S. engaged in indirect talks with Iran under President Joe Biden, it remains unclear how that would carry over to a possible Harris administration. Ms. Harris, in a speech to the Democratic National Convention last week, said: “I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.”

The RANE Network, a risk-intelligence firm, said if Harris wins, “the likelihood of a deal will rise as the Israel-Hamas war winds down.”

“Once negotiations begin, Iran will likely demand more protections regarding a potential U.S. withdrawal from a new deal after the United States walked away from the previous deal in 2018,” RANE said in an analysis Tuesday.

“Because of concerns about the sustainability of any new deal, Iran is also less likely to offer as many nuclear concessions, like the dismantling of more advanced centrifuges, since Iran would want to be able to spin up its nuclear program as fast as possible in the event of another U.S. exit from the new deal.”

Tuesday’s meeting between Mr. Khamenei and Mr. Pezeshkian’s Cabinet included an appearance by former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who helped Iran reach the 2015 deal. After the meeting, Zarif said in an online message that he would continue to serve as a vice president in Mr. Pezeshkian’s administration after earlier publicly resigning over the makeup of the Cabinet.

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, left, embraces reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian after the conclusion of the candidates debate at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, on June 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A candidate in Iran’s presidential election withdrew from the race late on June 26, becoming the first to back out for hard-liners to coalesce around a unity candidate in the vote to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi.

Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, dropped his candidacy and urged other candidates to do the same “so that the front of the revolution will be strengthened,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported.

Mr. Ghazizadeh Hasehmi served as one of Raisi’s Vice Presidents and as the head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. He ran in the 2021 presidential election and received just under 1 million votes, coming in last place.

Such withdrawals are common in the final hours of an Iranian presidential election, particularly in the last 24 hours before the vote is held when campaigns enter a mandatory quiet period without rallies. Voters go to the polls on June 28

Also read | A brief look at the life of Ebrahim Raisi

Mr. Ghazizadeh Hashemi’s decision leaves five other candidates still in the race. Analysts broadly see the race at the moment as a three-way contest.

Experts say two hard-liners, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, are fighting over the same bloc. Then there’s the sole reformist in the race, Masoud Pezeshkian, a cardiac surgeon who has associated himself with the former administration of the relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who reached Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

Iran’s theocracy under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has maintained its stance of not approving women or anyone calling for radical change to the country’s government for the ballot. However, Mr. Khamenei in recent days has called for a “maximum” turnout in the vote, while also issuing a veiling warning to Mr. Pezeshkian and his allies about relying on the United States.

A widespread public apathy has descended in the Iranian capital over the election, coming after the May helicopter crash that killed Raisi.

After the promise nearly a decade ago of Tehran’s nuclear deal opening up Iran to the rest of the world, Iranians broadly face crushing economic conditions and a far more uncertain Middle East that already has seen the Islamic Republic directly attack Israel for the first time. Iran also now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and has enough of it to produce several nuclear weapons if it choses.

The limited options in the election, as well as widespread discontent over Iran’s ongoing crackdown on women over the mandatory headscarf, has some saying they won’t vote.

“I did not watch any of the debates since I have no plan to vote,” said Fatemeh Jazayeri, a 27-year-old unemployed woman with a master’s degree. “I voted for Rouhani seven years ago, but he failed to deliver his promises for better economy. Any promise by any candidates will remain on paper only.”

Worshippers in Tehran at Friday prayers, typically more conservative than others in the city, appeared more willing to vote.

Mahmoud Seyedi, a 46-year-old shopkeeper, said he and his wife alongside two young daughters will vote,

“My wife and I have decided to vote for Qalibaf since he knows how to solve problems of the country because years of experiences but my daughters are thinking about Jalili, too,” he said. “By the way, voting is a duty for us.”

Parivash Emami, 49, another at prayers, said she hoped his vote could help Iran overcome its problems.

“Qalibaf knows details of problems in details, the rest are either critics or promise to solve problems without offering any program,” Ms. Emami said.