Tehran hardliner daily hits back: US is crumbling, not Iran

Witkoff’s remarks on Monday suggested that any new deal could closely resemble the Obama-era JCPOA, which President Donald Trump withdrew from in 2018.

In a tweet on Tuesday Witkoff seemed to have backtracked from his earlier statement.

“A deal with Iran will only be completed if it is a Trump deal," the special envoy said and added, "...meaning that Iran must stop and eliminate its nuclear enrichment and weaponization program."

On Monday, Witkoff had said in an interview with Fox News’ Hannity that Iran's uranium enrichment would not be eliminated entirely but rather scaled back to the JCPOA’s limit of 3.67 percent. “They do not need to enrich past 3.67 percent,” he said.

Ha also added that “This is going to be much about verification on the enrichment program, and then ultimately verification on weaponization. That includes missiles—the type of missiles that they have stockpiled there—and it includes the trigger for a bomb.”

This particular demand would be within reach, as Tehran has repeatedly has called for a US return to the original terms of the JCPOA.

So what was new in Witkoff’s remarks in his interview with Fox?

First, the Trump administration is seeking a broader inspection regime than the one included in the JCPOA. This could entail access not only to declared enrichment facilities, but also to potential sites involved in warhead development. Iran has consistently resisted such expanded oversight, and this will likely be a point of friction in the talks.

Second, Witkoff explicitly mentioned Iran’s ballistic missile program—a domain left mostly untouched by the original nuclear deal. Including missile oversight would require access to Iran’s extensive military research and development infrastructure, which Tehran has long refused to open to outside inspection.

The logic for including missiles is clear. If Iran were to produce nuclear warheads, ballistic missiles would be its most viable delivery system. Iran has already built thousands of such missiles. While they may not be highly advanced, when armed with nuclear warheads, they could pose a significant threat to the region, including Israel, Greece, and potentially other parts of southern and eastern Europe.

Witkoff had hinted at the administration’s limited goals in an earlier interview with Tucker Carlson in March. However, other senior officials, including the Secretary of State and the National Security Adviser, have publicly pushed for the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program.

One unresolved issue is also the fate of nearly 300 kilograms of highly enriched uranium that Iran has stockpiled. According to a report by The Guardian on Tuesday, the United States has proposed transferring the material to a third country, such as Russia—a move Tehran is likely to oppose. The issue was reportedly raised during recent talks in Oman between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff, but Iran insisted the stockpile remain under UN supervision inside the country..

Ultimately, the central question is how quickly and how far Tehran is prepared to go in reaching a deal, specially if the US insists on zero enrichment—and whether the Trump administration is willing to compromise on its tougher demands during the bargaining process.

"Iran has to get rid of the concept of a nuclear weapon. They cannot have a nuclear weapon," President Trump said on April 14. "I think they're tapping us along because they were so used to dealing with stupid people in this country."

“They've got to go fast, because they're fairly close to having one, and they're not going to have one,” he added. “If we have to do something very harsh, we'll do it. And I'm not doing it for us, I'm doing it for the world. These are radicalized people, and they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

A Revolutionary Court in Mashhad handed down the verdicts on charges of propaganda against the establishment and propaganda in favor of Israel according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Speaking to Iran International, defense attorney Mohammad Olyaifard said the lawyers were punished for doing their jobs.

“These verdicts are part of the ongoing crackdown on civil institutions,” Olyaifard said.

Initially charged in 2022, the lawyers were briefly included under a general amnesty directive but in January 2025 Iranian authorities reopened the case and launched a new round of investigations.

The Islamic Republic has long targeted independent lawyers and civil society advocates. After the nationwide protests beginning in September 2022 were quashed with deadly force, the state has kept a tight lid on civil and political activism with arrests and executions of demonstrators.

Armed assailants stormed an auto repair shop in Mehrestan County in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province on Friday and killed the workers at close range.

"Pakistan strongly condemned the inhumane and cowardly killing of its nationals in Iran," Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement on Monday.

"The leadership and people of Pakistan are deeply saddened and disturbed by this tragic incident. The Prime Minister has expressed heartfelt condolences for the bereaved families."

"We hope for Iranian side's full cooperation in investigating the matter and in timely repatriation of victims' remains," the statement added.

According to Halvash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people, the incident took place early Friday in the village of Hizabad-e Paein.

The victims—car mechanics and bodywork specialists from Pakistan’s Punjab province—were living and working at the repair shop when gunmen entered the premises, tied their hands and feet, and shot them.

Iranian security forces were deployed to the site following the killings, and the area was placed under heightened surveillance, according to Halvash.

Iran has officially denounced the killings as an "act of terrorism." In a statement on Sunday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said that the country’s security and judicial authorities are determined to identify and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Asr-e Iran website reported that a group calling itself the Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

The armed group operates on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border and has been involved in previous attacks on state and civilian targets.

The Iranian embassy in Islamabad also issued a statement condemning the act as “inhumane and cowardly.”

In January 2024, Iran and Pakistan exchanged rare cross-border strikes targeting militant groups. Iran launched missiles at what it said were Jaish al-Adl positions inside Pakistan, prompting a retaliatory Pakistani strike on Baloch separatist camps in Iranian territory.

Jaish al-Adl is an armed opposition groups to the Islamic republic.

The strikes marked the most serious escalation in years along the shared frontier.

Esmail Baghaei said that indirect negotiations are not unusual and have occurred before, adding that they are currently taking place in other contexts as well.

“Direct negotiations, in a situation where one side insists on a coercive approach, uses threats, and resorts to force, are neither beneficial nor acceptable to a side like the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said speaking to reporters on Monday. “Therefore, we will continue with the form and approach we have chosen.”

Baghaei also said that the next round of talks may take place in a location other than Oman, adding that the location is not as important as ensuring the framework of interaction between Iran and the US remains unchanged.

On Sunday, Axios reported that Rome will host second round of Iran-US negotiations next week.

Baghaei added that the Iran's main demand in the negotiations is the removal of sanctions, which the Islamic Republic is pursuing with determination.

Baghaei also confirmed that the Director General of the UN's nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi will likely visit Tehran this week. Earlier the Wall Street Journal reported that Grossi will visit Tehran this week ahead of the next round of US-Iran talks on Saturday.

He also addressed Tehran's economic cooperation with Washington, saying: "The Islamic Republic has never placed any obstacles to economic cooperation with other parties, but the real problem lies with the US, which, through complex laws, has deprived its own citizens of any economic dealings with Iran."

Baghaei confirmed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Moscow later this week for a pre-planned visit.

"The trip was planned in advance, but there will be consultations regarding the talks with the US," Baghaei said.

Hardliners in Tehran have been working to frame the opaque, closed-door meeting—described as positive by both sides—as a political win for the Islamic Republic. Some have even gone so far as to label it a victory.

The following day, Javan, the IRGC-affiliated daily, declared: "Iran is the winner of the negotiations, with or without an agreement." The paper described the meeting as "a show of Iran's power against the United States' helplessness."

Javan highlighted the breaking of the deadlock and the promise of further negotiations as signs the process would ultimately benefit Iran. It claimed Iran had dictated "all of its preconditions, including the venue, timing, and agenda" to the United States.

This triumphant narrative, however, stood in contrast to Araghchi’s own statement that the talks focused solely on nuclear issues. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the negotiations aimed to "de-escalate regional tensions, facilitate prisoner exchanges, and reach limited agreements to ease sanctions in exchange for controlling Iran's nuclear program."

At the same time, some hardliners sought to emphasize Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s authority by noting that he had personally authorized the meeting.

However some opposition to negotiations was evident among ultra-hardliners. They appeared to highlight Khamenei's role with the possible intent of assigning blame to him should the renewed diplomatic engagement fail.

Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the Khamenei-linked Kayhan newspaper, wrote: "The indirect talks with the United States could not have taken place without Khamenei's permission. If he had not approved them, he would certainly have blocked the meeting."

Shariatmadari added: "The horizon is not clear, and Iran must think of a Plan B." He dismissed US threats of military action as "a bluff," and claimed that "the draft Witkoff handed to Araghchi included no such thing as dismantling Iran's nuclear establishments or the possibility of a military attack."

Outspoken ultra-hardliner lawmaker Hamid Rasaei said in parliament on Sunday morning: "We all know that the Supreme Leader believes that the United States is not trustworthy and that negotiations with Washington are useless." He added, however, that "The Leader has authorized the talks to prove to some Iranian officials that the US breaks its promises and will put forward illogical demands."

Meanwhile, another ultraconservative MP, Mahmood Nabavian, vice-chairman of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, claimed that Trump initially wanted US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to participate in the talks with Araghchi. "But we insisted that Witkoff should go to Oman instead," he said, adding: "Trump accepted all of Iran's conditions regarding the format of the talks."

Saeed Haddadian, a political aide to parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also warned against excessive optimism about the negotiations with Washington. He suggested that Trump might not even support the approach taken by his own special envoy.

"If you show weakness in front of a thug such as Trump," Haddadian said, "you are likely to end up like Ukrainian President Zelensky. You will be humiliated, and you will not get any results."

In a separate development, Mehdi Fazaeli, a member of the Supreme Leader's office staff, denied claims that senior Iranian officials had pressured Khamenei to shift his position in response to Trump’s letter or to adjust his overall approach to the talks.