Iran welcomes US investors and offers nuclear assurances in major shift of tone

Comments by President Masoud Pezeshkian come days before much anticipated US-Iran talks in Oman

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, second right, visits an exhibition at Iran's Atomic Technology Day in Tehran. Mr Pezeshkian said US investors are welcome in the country. EPA

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday US investors are welcome to invest in the country, marking another shift in Tehran’s approach towards Washington, long considered its greatest adversary.

His remarks came hours after deputy special envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus told The National in an interview that the US aims to establish common ground and mutual understanding with Iran during much anticipated meetings in Oman on Saturday.

“I meet the supreme leader [Ali Al Khamenei] several times each week. He has no objection to American investors in the country,” Mr Pezeshkian said at a ceremony marking National Nuclear Technology Day.

“Let them come and invest – but we oppose plotting, regime change efforts, and destructive policies. Iran is not a place for conspiracies or espionage followed by assassinations. Investors are welcome to invest in our country,” he added.

Iran has long described the US as its biggest enemy, calling it The Great Satan. But the oil-rich country, under heavy economic sanctions, has shifted its tone recently towards the administration of President Donald Trump, after heavy blows to its main proxy militant groups in the region.

Despite the potential thaw, the US announced new sanctions on Wednesday on five Iranian companies it described as “enablers” of the regime's nuclear activities. Three are allegedly linked to Iran’s atomic energy agency and two to the production of centrifuges.

Mr Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described Iran’s “reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons” as a “menace to regional stability”. He said his department would continue to “disrupt any attempt” by Iran to advance its nuclear programme.

A mural depicting the Statue of Liberty with the torch-bearing arm broken, painted on the outer walls of the former US embassy in Tehran. AFP

Inside Iran, analysts and academics are debating whether Tehran should fundamentally rethink its regional strategy, with the leadership weighing a shift that could result in it cutting back support for armed militant groups in response to regional fatigue and rising costs.

The previous Trump administration had not negotiated with Iran, and Saturday’s talks – whether direct or indirect – will mark the first public rapprochement between the sides. The US State Department has confirmed that Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, will take part.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday said his country is “ready to engage in earnest” to seal a deal, in an opinion piece published in The Washington Post.

In her interview with The National, Ms Ortagus said her administration knows “how to get to deal” and that it isn’t “focused a lot on the process” to achieve that.

'We know how to get deals': Morgan Ortagus says US seeking 'peaceful resolution' with Iran

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While Iran denies seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, it is “dramatically” accelerating the enrichment of uranium to 60 per cent purity – a short step from the 90 per cent required to create nuclear weapons. However, following threats from Mr Trump, Mr Al Khamenei’s senior adviser Ali Larijani warned that Iran would acquire such a weapon if attacked.

On Wednesday, Mr Pezeshkian sought to ease the threat by offering guarantees.

“We will give any necessary guarantees, because we are not pursuing a nuclear bomb. They’ve inspected a hundred or a thousand times – let them come again. We haven’t pursued, aren’t pursuing, and will never pursue a nuclear bomb,” he said.

“We want peace and security. We are people of dialogue, but with dignity and honour. We will not compromise on our achievements, we will not bargain them away,” in reference to the nuclear technology the country possesses.

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