Diplomatic concessions and reform needed to forestall war, Rouhani warns
A new military conflict will be inevitable unless Iran regains its national strength through reform, rearmament and realistic diplomacy, former president Hassan Rouhani warned.
A new military conflict will be inevitable unless Iran regains its national strength through reform, rearmament and realistic diplomacy, former president Hassan Rouhani warned.
“Diplomatically, we must reject the dichotomy of war or surrender,” Rouhani said in remarks published on Tuesday.
“We should pursue win-win negotiations, accepting 70–80% gains instead of zero-sum failures that previously resulted in UN resolutions," the former president said.
A key architect of the now mostly lapsed 2015 international nuclear deal, Rouhani is out of favor with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and has stepped up calls for reform.
He made the remarks in a meeting on Sunday with his former cabinet members, on the eve of the Middle East Peace Summit in Egypt where US President Donald Trump invited Tehran to join in a new regional order.
The US state department told Iran International on Sunday Washington remains ready for “serious and direct dialogue” with Tehran, hours after Iranian leaders declined invitations to attend the Trump-led summit.
“We are ready to talk directly,” a state department spokesperson said. “Should the Iranians want to negotiate, the ball is in their court."
'Iran attacked when deterrence was gone'
Rouhani called for the Islamic Republic to boost its military and intelligence power while engaging in negotiations in order to avert a war.
“If we strengthen our military, intelligence, political, and diplomatic power—and above all, our national power—there will be no war,” Rouhani said.
"If deterrence exists, there will be no war. War will only happen when deterrence is called into question; otherwise, Israel has always wanted to fight us—it’s not as if it just decided to do so now."
Israel launched a surprise military offensive in June, striking Iran’s military and nuclear facilities as well as targeting top officials. Iran retaliated with salvos of drones and ballistic missiles.
The United States entered the conflict on June 22 with attacks on key nuclear sites in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, and later brokered a ceasefire between Iran and Israel after 12 days of fighting on June 24.
Iranian authorities intensified crackdowns following the conflict, claiming to have disrupted espionage networks and detained alleged spies.
“If you arrest ten top Mossad agents in the country, and the enemy realizes their key operatives are captured, their plans will be disrupted, forcing a redesign that could take months,” Rouhani said.
“More than three and a half months have passed since the 12-day war. We had - and we still have - an opportunity to act to achieve results that delay or even prevent another war."
Since late September when UN sanctions were reimposed on Iran, many observers and Iranian officials have warned of a potential new military conflict with Israel or its allies.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that Israel currently has no interest in going to war with Iran.
“We continue our trusted contacts with Israel and are receiving signals from the Israeli leadership asking us to convey to our Iranian friends that Israel is focused on achieving further stability and is not interested in any form of confrontation,” Putin said, according to the Tass news agency.
Erfan Qaneifard, a critic of Tehran's clerical establishment, has been in a US immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) detention center in Texas for over six months.
His strident rebukes of the Islamic Republic in books and editorials for Israel's Jerusalem Post newspaper may lead to a death sentence if US law enforcement carries through on plans to deport him, sponsors of a petition seeking his freedom told Iran International.
For them, Qaneifard’s case is a test of America’s moral commitment to protect those who speak out against tyranny.
Negar Karamati said Qaneifard told her in a phone call this week he is hopeful but exhausted.
“It’s not a pleasant place to be, especially when you haven’t done anything wrong,” she told Iran International. “He’s been there for over 200 days now — it’s an immigration issue, nothing more.”
Qaneifard has been held at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas, since March 28, when he was detained after reporting to an ICE office in Dallas to update his address, according to his attorney, Masoud Peyma.
The center, which houses more than 700 detainees, has faced complaints of overcrowding and harsh conditions according to US media.
Peyma said Qaneifard, who was preparing to start a teaching position at a Dallas college, was instead detained and transferred to a facility for undocumented migrants.
"The risk is real. If he is sent back, his life will be in danger,” Peyma told Iran International. “There is no reason for him to remain in detention after six months.”
Karamati described Qaneifard as a demanding but deeply caring mentor who inspired her and other young Iranians to engage critically with politics and the media.
“He teaches in a way that you could sit for hours and learn,” she said. “Even in conversation, it feels like a lecture — he’s that informative and passionate.”
She said Qaneifard’s detention has devastated his friends and family. "Every voice counts in stopping this serious injustice,” she added.
Petition gains momentum
From California, grassroots activist Mojgan Mehdizadeh launched an online petition titled Free Erfan Qaneifard — Stop His Deportation to Danger that has gathered nearly 3,000 signatures, including Keramati's.
“I’ve followed his books and interviews for years,” Mehdizadeh said. “He’s an expert on Iran’s modern history and a critic of the regime. Sending him back would be a death sentence.”
The petition calls on the US President, Department of Homeland Security and State Department to release Qaneifard and halt any removal order.
It cites US and UN reports documenting torture, arbitrary detention and executions of political dissidents in Iran, urging Washington to uphold its obligations under the Convention Against Torture and the principle of non-refoulement.
'A test of America’s promise'
Qaneifard’s attorney, Masoud Peyma, told Iran International that ICE has contacted Iran’s Interests Section in Washington seeking travel documents, but Tehran has not responded.
He has filed motions in federal and immigration courts to secure his client’s release and reopen his asylum claim with new evidence of his political work.
Qaneifard’s earlier asylum request, filed in 2013, was rejected in 2018 for lack of evidence.
He reentered the United States in 2017 through the Mexico border, applied for asylum, and was previously detained at ICE facility in El Paso until 2020, during which time the US attempted to deport him through Azerbaijan, but he refused to board a Tehran-bound flight.
The case comes as the United States faces scrutiny for a series of deportations to Iran. A US-chartered flight recently carried dozens of Iranians to Tehran after stopping in Puerto Rico and Qatar, following months of talks between Washington and Tehran.
Immigration attorney Ali Herischi told Iran International that flight included political dissidents and Christian converts, some of whom were shackled and separated from their families before being handed over to Iranian authorities.
For Qaneifard’s supporters, that makes his situation even more urgent. “This man hasn’t done anything criminal,” one wrote in the petition. “If he is sent back to Iran, they will kill or torture him for speaking the truth.”
Between 2017 and 2024, Qaneifard wrote extensively about Iran’s security apparatus and regional militias, contributing commentary to Persian- and English-language outlets.
In one of his columns with the Jerusalem Post he wrote: “No one believes anymore that a bloodthirsty madman like Khamenei represents Allah or The Lord … The deceit of malicious and vile mullahs no longer finds buyers in Iranian society.”
For his friends, those words emblematize both his courage and the danger he faces. “America’s promise is to protect people who speak out against tyranny," Mehdizadeh's told Iran International. “Erfan’s case is a test of that promise.”
“Diplomacy will never be suspended, but we did not take part in a summit chaired by a party that takes pride in an illegal attack against our country,” Baghaei said, referring to the Monday meeting in Egypt that was led by US President Donald Trump.
The Sharm el-Sheikh summit, attended by leaders from the United States, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, followed the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that ended two years of war in Gaza. The deal included the release of 20 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Baghaei said the meeting “had no international credibility” because it was not held under the supervision of the United Nations and several major countries, including China and Russia, were not invited. “A gathering of limited participants cannot claim to represent the global community,” he said, according to state radio.
He added that Iran viewed the conference as politically one-sided, given that it was chaired by “a party that not only supported but also celebrated illegal strikes against Iran earlier this year.”
In June, the United States joined Israel in a series of attacks on Iranian nuclear sites after indirect talks between Tehran and Washington stalled over enrichment and inspection terms. The strikes destroyed parts of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and killed scientists and soldiers, according to Iranian officials.
Baghaei said Iran’s position on Gaza remained unchanged. “Our clear priority is ending the genocide in Gaza, ensuring the return of displaced residents and securing the withdrawal of the occupiers,” he said. “As long as the Palestinian right to self-determination is not recognized, no plan will lead to real peace.”
Iran rejects Trump’s remarks on peace
His remarks came after the Iranian Foreign Ministry rejected Trump’s comments about a possible peace deal with Tehran, calling them contradictory to US behavior. Trump said during the summit in Egypt that “it would be great if we made a peace deal with them,” and later told reporters that Iran “has been battered and bruised” by sanctions but would “come along” to negotiations.
Tehran said such comments could not be taken seriously in light of US sanctions and the June attacks. “How can one speak of peace while attacking residential areas and peaceful nuclear facilities and killing innocent people?” the ministry said on Monday.
Baghaei said Iran continued to rely on diplomacy “to safeguard national interests and promote peace,” emphasizing that participation in international affairs “is not limited to physical presence at summits.”
“The Islamic Republic has always used diplomacy as a tool to protect its sovereignty and to pursue peace and stability,” he said. “This approach will continue, but it will not come at the cost of our national dignity.”
