Iran's senior national security official said progress was being made on creating a framework for negotiations with the US as tension is high in the region with an American military build-up and threats of action.
“Contrary to the atmosphere being created by artificial media warfare, the formation of a structure for negotiations is under way,” Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said on Saturday, without elaborating.
US President Donald Trump has said he believed Iran preferred to make a deal rather than face military action. “You could make a negotiated deal that would be satisfactory with no nuclear weapons … They should do that, but I don’t know that they will. They are talking to us – seriously talking,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Mr Trump initially threatened to use military force against Iran as reports emerged of the action against anti-government protests in January. Activists outside the country have put the death toll at about 6,700 people, most of them protesters. They say they are investigating reports of thousands more killings.
He appeared to back down from using military force after receiving assurances that protesters would not be executed in Iran. The US has sent what the American president described as a “beautiful armada” to the region, escalating tension.
Iran has taken a tough stance as the threat of US strikes looms, saying it would respond to a new US attack with “all-out war”.
A number of countries, including the UAE and Qatar, have also issued statements saying their airspaces and territories would not be used for an attack on Iran.
Regional mediation has also taken place between the US and Iran in an effort to ease the situation. Qatar, Turkey and Egypt have been involved in intense mediation between Hamas, Israel and the US since October 2023, leading to a ceasefire in Gaza and Mr Trump's Board of Peace.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met with Mr Larijani on Saturday in Tehran to discuss “continuing efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” a statement by Qatar's Foreign Ministry said. Doha has traditionally played a leading role in mediating between Tehran and Washington.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi also held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the crisis. Mr El Sisi stressed the need for Iran and the US to return to the negotiating table.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Mr Pezeshkian on Friday that Turkey was willing to “play a facilitating role between Iran and the US to reduce tensions and resolve issues”, his office said. Mr Erdogan also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul.
The US and Tehran held several rounds of talks last year over an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, after the US pulled out of a previous deal in 2018 during Mr Trump’s first term. But those talks collapsed when Israel attacked Iran in June, unleashing a 12-day war in which the US also struck Iran’s nuclear sites.
