US ready for peace with Iran, Trump says in speech to Israeli parliament

The government had received an invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi addressed to President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters on Monday. The decision not to attend, he said, was made “after thorough discussions inside and outside the ministry,” with all “positive and negative aspects evaluated before a final choice that serves national interests” was announced.

Responding to suggestions that Iran’s absence could weaken its regional role, Baghaei said, “Iran’s influence and role in regional and international developments go far beyond physical participation in any single event.” Tehran’s presence “cannot be confined to attending or not attending one international meeting,” he added.

“Iran remains one of the most active countries in opposing Israel’s actions in Gaza,” Baghaei added, saying Iran “will continue its work actively and is confident of its impact wherever necessary.”

Iran assessing Trump peace initiative

Asked about the US-led peace proposal and the summit chaired by President Donald Trump, Baghaei said Iran is “closely evaluating the developments” surrounding the plan. “The Islamic Republic is in a position to turn any threat into an opportunity and to chart a course for securing its national interests from within challenges,” he said.

Tehran has long studied every aspect of the Gaza conflict and continues to oppose the ongoing violence, he noted.

“Fortunately, Iran is in a position to counter any sanctions and to identify and use every opportunity arising from challenges in the interest of the nation.”

Other diplomatic matters

Baghaei also confirmed that Iran’s ambassadors to Germany, France, and the United Kingdom — who had been recalled for consultations — have returned to their posts.

Asked about Trump’s recent remarks that US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities helped pave the way for the Gaza peace deal, Baghaei said such remarks “should be asked of them [the Americans],” adding that “Iran has always firmly defended its interests and continues to use all its capacities to confront foreign adventurism.”

“Had we not taken out Iran’s nuclear facility… it would have a really dark cloud over" the Gaza peace deal, "because in two months they would have had a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to the Middle East.

He recalled that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pleaded with former President Barack Obama and then–Vice President Joe Biden not to move forward with their Iran policy.

“Remember when Netanyahu came and he begged that Obama and Biden not do what they were doing with Iran? Begged him and they wouldn’t even listen to him. Everything they did was the opposite of what you should have done. Biden and Obama backed Iran,” Trump told reporters.

Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian has declined Egypt’s invitation to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit on Monday, where more than twenty world leaders are expected to discuss Gaza’s post-war future.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also announced he would not attend, citing continuing US sanctions and what he called “threats against the Iranian people.”

The summit, co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, includes leaders or top diplomats from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

“Iran wants to work on peace now,” Trump said earlier this month. “They’ve informed us they are totally in favor of this deal. We appreciate that, and we’ll work with Iran.”

The Islamic Republic has announced that it was invited by Egypt to participate in the summit, but the more important point is that Cairo does not act on such sensitive matters without coordination and a green light from Washington.

Therefore, this invitation should be analyzed within the broader framework of the US policy of “managing and consolidating the Middle East” — a policy that has entered a new phase following the de-escalation in Gaza and the Arab states’ move toward normalization with Israel.

On the surface, Washington suggests that Tehran, too, could be part of the peace process and even a potential signatory to the Abraham Accord. In reality, however, this message is not driven by a genuine desire to integrate the Islamic Republic into a new regional order, but rather to exert soft pressure on Tehran to move toward implicit recognition of Israel.

In other words, the invitation to Sharm el-Sheikh is a strategic test for the Islamic Republic: is Iran prepared, in exchange for an end to pressure and sanctions, to take a step — even indirectly — toward “recognizing Israel”?

Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic faces a situation where rejecting the invitation could also prove costly. Cornered and weakened, it finds its options reduced to a single question: to go or not to go to Sharm el-Sheikh.

Iran’s nuclear program has been indefinitely stalled — or, as Donald Trump put it, obliterated. Its missile program has also suffered heavy losses, with Israeli strikes inflicting serious damage on Iran’s arsenal and defense infrastructure.

In this context, the United States seeks to use Iran’s relative military weakness, mounting economic strain, the decline of its regional proxies, and Hamas’s defeat to make Tehran understand the kind of peace and stability Washington envisions for the region — a peace built on accepting the new Middle East security order, where Israel is no longer the enemy but a recognized, established power.

From Tehran’s perspective, however, attending such a summit would amount to implicitly accepting a fundamental shift in the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy.

Recognizing Israel — even indirectly, through participation in a joint conference — could create a deep rupture in the Islamic Republic’s ideological legitimacy. Yet refusing to attend would perpetuate the same policy of isolation and stagnation that has left the country politically and diplomatically paralyzed.

Since October 7, 2023, the Islamic Republic has repeatedly found itself in unviable positions.

Had Iran attended the Sharm el-Sheikh summit at the presidential level, it could have marked the beginning of a new chapter in its regional and even global relations.

A Pezeshkian flight to Cairo would have symbolized the collapse of the Islamic Republic’s ideological core and suggested a historic turn toward negotiation and compromise. But repeating the old pattern — avoiding such openings — once again leaves Tehran isolated, or perhaps worse, on the verge of collapse.

Thus, the real meaning of the invitation lies not in goodwill or mutual respect, but in the pressure and testing designed by the United States and its allies to define the Islamic Republic’s future course.

Today, the Islamic Republic faces a historic choice: to adapt its regional policy and join the emerging order, or to persist in its old path and bear the growing costs of isolation, economic decline, and security erosion. So far, its choice — and the fate it leads to — has become increasingly clear.

“We are ready to talk directly,” a state department spokesperson said. “The United States has kept the door open for serious and direct dialogue, even as Iran has consistently rejected negotiations.”

“Should the Iranians want to negotiate, the ball is in their court,” the spokesperson added, quoting President Trump. “They are the ones that stand to benefit from the negotiation.”

Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian turned down Egypt’s invitation to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit scheduled for Monday, where more than twenty world leaders are expected to discuss a post-war framework for Gaza.

Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he too would skip the meeting, citing ongoing US sanctions and what he called “threats against the Iranian people.”

The summit, co-chaired by Trump and Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, will bring together leaders or foreign ministers from Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia.

'Betrayal'

Iran’s inclusion was met with conflicting reactions in Tehran.

Moderates urged the president to seize what they described as a rare diplomatic opening, while hardliners denounced any participation as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and a tacit recognition of Israel.

Responding to Iran International’s query after Tehran’s refusal, the US state department reaffirmed Washington’s readiness for “full cooperation” in exchange for Iran suspending its nuclear program.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” the spokesperson said. “Beyond that … it is not in our national interest to negotiate these issues publicly.”

Trump said last week that Iranian authorities had “been in contact” to express their support for the Gaza deal.

“Iran wants to work on peace now. They’ve informed us they are totally in favor of this deal,” the president told reporters on October 9. “We appreciate that, and we’ll work with Iran.”

Mizan's report said the sale of such dolls has recently become common on social media platforms and in certain stores, adding that many sellers are unaware of their “anti-religious nature.”

The prosecutor’s office instructed judicial officers to identify those involved in the production, distribution, and marketing of the dolls as soon as possible and to hand over the suspects to the judiciary, the report added.

Mizan’s report comes a day after a petition was launched on Karzar.net, a government-monitored Iranian petition platform, calling on the judiciary to prosecute those behind the dolls and tighten oversight of online sales.

The campaign, which has gathered more than 3,300 signatures since Saturday, accuses the manufacturers of insulting Shiite sanctities.

The dolls, marketed under names such as Morteza and Marziyeh, are designed as stress-relief toys shaped like animals including gorillas, monkeys, or pigs.

The name Morteza is a title associated with Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad revered by Shiite Muslims as the first Imam. Marziyeh is also a title associated with Fatimah, the Prophet’s daughter and a central figure in Shiite Islam.

According to Iranian media reports, the dolls have been sold on Iran’s biggest online marketplace Digikala and other platforms, including Instagram.