Iran International
Pressure is building inside Iran’s political establishment for a fundamental change of course, with former president Hassan Rouhani joining a growing chorus warning that continued rigidity could lead to paralysis or trigger renewed unrest.
The convergence — from reformist academics to former officials close to the Supreme Leader — points to an unusual degree of agreement that the status quo, especially after the June war with Israel, is unsustainable.
“There is no way to save the country except for all of us to become servants of the people — to recognize that sovereignty belongs to the people,” moderate outlet Entekhab quoted Rouhani as saying on Thursday. “The Iranian nation owns Iran.”
Rouhani also urged an overhaul of media regulations to allow private broadcasters alongside the state’s. “We should have 10, 20, 30 channels that are private, owned by the people,” he said. “If we want the people to be with us, this is the way.”
‘Obligation to negotiate’
Rouhani’s remarks come amid a season of acute pressures — a setback in the June conflict with Israel, an economy battered by sanctions and mismanagement, and rolling water and electricity outages in a sweltering summer that have pushed many Iranians to the edge.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has in recent weeks all but raised his hands in defeat, implying that real power lies elsewhere when it comes to key policies such as relations with the United States.
Rouhani picked up where Pezeshkian left off.
“If we can improve relations with Europe, our neighbors, and both East and West—even reduce tensions with the United States—and it serves our interests, then why not?” he said.
“Not only is there nothing wrong with it, it is our duty and obligation.”
‘Iran in ruins’
Prominent sociologist Taqi Azad Armaki went further, calling for an ideological shift toward a normal state.
“The government has only two options: change its outdated approaches or face a deadlock,” he said on Wednesday. “Iran must embrace global norms to overcome its political, economic, and cultural challenges and improve its international image.”
But the most scathing take came from former MP Parvaneh Salahshoouri, who appeared to address Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directly.
“With its ‘Islamic Ummah’ doctrine, the Islamic Republic built neither an ummah nor preserved the Iranian nation,” she posted on X, citing the Arabic word for religious community—central to the thinking and behavior of Iran’s theocratic rule.
“What remains is a ruined Iran, and from the Islamic Ummah, only curses and hatred toward it,” she added, leaving little doubt as to whom she blamed with direct references to Khamenei’s catchphrases.
“(The Islamic Republic) squandered ‘dignity and wisdom’ with the ‘no war, no negotiations’ stance — and yet there was both war and negotiations — and now it is even struggling to preserve Iran itself.”
“We stated to the (US) negotiating party that we are willing to build trust, but it seems as though they have pretended to be asleep,” Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said on Tuesday—the clearest suggestion yet that reluctance may be coming from the United States.
“Even direct negotiations can happen,” he added, under balanced conditions. “The Islamic Republic’s approach to negotiations is in line with what the people want.”
The remarks followed Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takhtravanchi’s statement a day earlier that Iran was prepared to limit its nuclear program if US sanctions were lifted.
There was no public response by Washington.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio along with foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain set an informal end-August deadline for a new nuclear deal, warning failure would mean triggering the so-called "snapback" of UN sanctions.
‘No rush’
But no response came from Washington. President Donald Trump told reporters in mid-July that the urgency to engage with Iran had vanished after US strikes in late June.
“They would like to talk. I’m in no rush to talk because we obliterated their site,” Trump told reporters mid July, implying he was content to let pressure build.
European officials have warned Tehran that unless it fully cooperates with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the “trigger mechanism” for snapback could be activated, restoring UN sanctions this fall.
Red lines
Despite the conciliatory gestures, Iran’s red lines remain intact.
Takhtravanchi told Japan’s Kyodo News this week that Tehran would not relinquish what it called its right to uranium enrichment.
Officials also stressed that Monday’s visit by IAEA Deputy Director General Massimo Aparo was unrelated to inspections, and Tehran continues to bar IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, accusing him of complicity in the recent attacks.
Reformist daily Arman Melli called Takhtravanchi’s offer “a new prudent decision regarding the nuclear dossier,” noting Iran’s aim to avoid the trigger mechanism while securing sanctions relief to ease its deep financial crisis.
Hardline outlets, meanwhile, have expressed anger at the IAEA and the UN Security Council’s failure to condemn the strikes, and domestic critics warn that opening talks with Washington could be politically costly.
Divisions and outlook
While the Foreign Ministry and its diplomats remain cautious about re-engaging the West, the Presidential Office appears more eager to pursue direct negotiations.
Vahideh Karimi, political editor of Shargh, warned that the combination of Iran’s tentative flexibility and Washington’s hesitation could prolong the stalemate, calling Takhtravanchi’s proposal “realistic” but fragile.
She also pointed to Tehran’s missile program — repeatedly declared off-limits after the war with Israel — as a potential deal-breaker.
Others, like Ham Mihan columnist Majid Younesian, argue the balance of forces is shifting in Iran’s favor and that confrontation with the US and Europe must evolve.
“Change does not mean surrender, as hardliners claim. Not all problems need to be solved with guns, slogans, and provocations,” he wrote.