Iran's supreme leader grants government powers for US talks, Pezeshkian says, as Tehran pushes dialogue over war
President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had granted the government certain powers to pursue talks with the United States, as Tehran said it was exchanging messages with Washington through mediators.
Iran's supreme leader has granted the government "certain powers" to pursue talks with the United States aimed at ending the Middle East war, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, in the most direct public signal yet that Tehran's leadership is clearing the way for a negotiated outcome. "We are striving to resolve the issue through dialogue. In this regard, the Supreme Leader has also conferred certain powers on the government," Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by Iran's state news agency IRNA, speaking at a meeting with provincial governors and mayors of major cities. He did not say, in the remarks as reported, what the powers include or how far they extend, and that limit matters: the announcement shows backing for diplomacy, not the terms of any deal. The statement matters because, in Iran's political system, the supreme leader has the final say on major questions of state, including foreign policy and national security. A public grant of authority from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei therefore removes one of the main uncertainties hanging over the indirect contacts: whether the negotiators in Tehran have room to move. Pezeshkian added that war would benefit no one and that Iran could not be forced to surrender through military action, pairing the diplomatic opening with a firm rejection of what he described as excessive demands from its adversaries. Pezeshkian spoke shortly after Iran's Foreign Ministry said Tehran was exchanging messages with Washington through mediators. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has described those contacts, conducted through Qatar and Pakistan, as "very intensive", and said Tehran had presented its conditions and proposals, with progress now depending on Washington's response. Iranian negotiators spent three days in Qatar-mediated talks in Doha before leaving with a draft proposal now being circulated for feedback, with a follow-up meeting possible. At the centre of the Iranian position is a proposal that has been shortened from seven days to two. Under the revised plan described by Araghchi, the United States would take a set of steps on the first day, and Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the second. Tehran's stated conditions include ending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, lifting sanctions imposed after the June 17 Islamabad memorandum, restoring oil waivers, releasing frozen Iranian funds, and reducing US military forces in the region. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that no agreement could begin and the strait could not be secured until those demands were met, putting what he called "the ball in America's court". The markets reacted quickly to the diplomatic signal. Oil prices fell about 6 per cent on Monday, with Brent crude dropping to around $105.86 a barrel and US crude to around $97.12, as traders priced in a lower risk of further supply disruption through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global energy exports travelled before the war restricted traffic. The fall extended an earlier decline reported on Monday, when Brent had already slipped more than 4 per cent on hopes of progress in the talks. The announcement also fits a wider diplomatic push. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi met senior Iranian security official Ali Bagheri Kani in Beijing on Monday, saying dialogue and negotiation remained the only viable path and that China supported Iran in safeguarding its sovereignty and security, while Beijing announced its Middle East envoy would visit Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in November. Tehran, for its part, has said it has no hostility towards its Gulf neighbours and supports regional cooperation for lasting security, even as it warns Gulf states against allowing their territory to be used for operations against Iran. Washington has kept its options open. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that talks with Iran were "going fine" and that he was "not in much of a hurry", while also saying the United States could still hit a suspected underground nuclear site in "10 minutes". Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Trump has not decided whether to order new strikes and prefers a diplomatic outcome. The timing sharpens the stakes: the United States holds midterm elections on Tuesday, and Israel is on its highest state of military alert amid fears of a surprise Iranian attack aimed at American interests or at influencing the vote. What happens next depends on Washington's answer, which has not yet been given publicly. If the United States accepts enough of Tehran's conditions, the two-day plan could, in Iran's telling, restore security in the strait quickly and ease pressure on global oil shipments and Gulf shipping. If Washington rejects the conditions, or waits until after the midterms, the fragile pause could give way to renewed strikes, the outcome Gulf governments, shipping firms and energy markets are all bracing for. For now, the supreme leader's grant of powers is best read as a door opened wider for diplomacy, not as a deal already done.Advertisement · Google AdSense 728×90 / 320×100
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