UN chief urges Iran to renounce nuclear weapons

On Tuesday, the former chairman of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee told local media on Tuesday that despite Pezeshkian’s public openness to engage in talks with the US, there is no sign that higher authorities have given their consent.

In Iran, the term "higher authority" when referring to the president typically means either Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei or the National Security Council, which is largely composed of Khamenei's appointees.

“Unless higher authorities grant permission for negotiations, occasional signals of openness toward the US will do little to protect the country’s interests,” Falahatpisheh said regarding Pezeshkian’s recent NBC interview.

The commentator noted that, despite Tehran being a high-priority issue for the new administration, President Donald Trump has yet to unveil his strategy for dealing with the country.

In recent weeks, numerous Iranian officials, media outlets, and commentators have begun advocating for talks as then-President elect Trump edged closer to returning to the White House. Iran's already dire economic situation has deteriorated further since September, sparking concerns in Tehran that Trump may intensify US sanctions, exacerbating pressure on the Islamic Republic.

It remains unclear whether President Trump will impose new sanctions, enhance the enforcement of existing ones, or pursue negotiations.

Falahatpisheh contended that it remains unclear whether Pezeshkian’s overtures toward Trump are aimed at influencing the US president or Iran’s national security council, which must approve any move to start negotiations.

"If these loud calls for negotiations, infatuation, fear, and panic dominate us, we will lose," Esmaeil Khatib said, while accusing the US of intensifying efforts to pressure Iran into what he labeled "imposed negotiations."

Iranian officials and media remain sharply divided on relations with Washington as Donald Trump is back in the White House. Reformist outlets like Jamaran News and Ham Mihan talk of the potential to mend ties, while hardliners such as Kayhan insist otherwise.

"The Americans will clearly intensify their efforts to pressure Iran and create conditions for imposed negotiations, resorting daily to seemingly attractive offers and both enticements and threats," he said, amid warnings from the US that the Trump administration will be taking a 'maximum pressure' approach on Iran, continuing its tough policies of the first administration.

The US cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980, following the formation of the Islamic Republic in the wake of the revolution.

"This is a key point to consider: Since the Islamic Revolution, the Americans have consistently talked about negotiation while acting in the opposite manner," Khatib said.

A shift is also apparent among Iranian conservatives, with figures like hardline politician and former diplomat Mohammad-Javad Larijani and lawmaker Javad Karimi Ghodoosi now advocating for talks.

"We have no restrictions ... if it's for the benefit of the system, even negotiating with the devil would be acceptable. We’d go to the depths of hell to negotiate with him," he said on state TV.

Earlier in the week, Ghodoosi said on X, "The Supreme Leader said years ago that cutting ties with the United States is not permanent and that when the time is right, he will personally announce it. This decision rests solely within the exclusive authority of the Leader of the Ummah."

During his first term, Trump enacted a series of measures to weaken Iran’s economy and diminish its regional influence, particularly targeting its nuclear program. He withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. His policy became known as "maximum pressure."

Earlier in December, Trump's newly appointed Middle East advisor, Massad Boulos, announced that the incoming administration plans to revive its maximum pressure strategy against Iran, signaling a clear intent to reinforce the country’s isolation.

Social media images showed closed shops in cities such as Sanandaj, Saqqez, Divandarreh, and Marivan in Kurdistan province, as well as Mahabad, Bukan in West Azarbaijan province, and Kermanshah.

Earlier this week, six Kurdish groups released a joint statement urging people to stage a strike on Wednesday to prevent the executions of Pakhshan Azizi and Varishe Moradi by shutting down marketplaces, workplaces, and schools.

Moradi was sentenced to death in November by Tehran's Revolutionary Court on charges of "armed rebellion." Azizi received the same sentence in July.

Both sentences have sparked outrage locally and internationally. Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, also joined the protest calls, writing on Instagram, “I urge all political, social, cultural, civil, and professional organizations to join this strike.”

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Among the parties supporting the strike were the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, also known as the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, and the Kurdistan Organization of the Communist Party of Iran.

Azizi was sentence to death in July 2024 for “armed rebellion against the state” and imposed an additional four-year prison sentence for alleged membership in the PJAK, accusations her lawyers have denied. PJAK has been designated as a terrorist organization by Iran, Turkey, and the US.

In addition to these groups, students and a coalition of Kurdish women issued separate statements condemning the death sentences. They also expressed support for the strike, denouncing the treatment of Azizi and Moradi, who are detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison, notorious for its harsh conditions and political detentions.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International has condemned Iran’s Supreme Court for upholding Azizi’s death sentence, calling her trial deeply flawed and her punishment unjust. Amnesty said, “Iran’s authorities must halt any plans to carry out her execution and release her immediately,” adding that her conviction appears to be tied to her peaceful humanitarian and human rights work.

In a letter from prison, Azizi has described instances of torture and harassment, including mock executions. Her case has become a focal point for human rights organizations, with many viewing her sentencing as part of a broader pattern of state repression against political dissidents.

According to the US-based rights group HRANA, at least 54 political prisoners, including Azizi, are currently facing execution across various prisons in Iran. Iran has faced increasing international criticism for its widespread use of the death penalty, especially against political prisoners and activists.

The United Nations human rights office reported in January that Iran in 2024 executed 901 people, including 31 women, marking a sharp rise in capital punishment cases.

"We are not inspecting at the levels or at the places that we believe we should be inspecting,” Rafael Grossi said on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum Summit in Davos.

He said that Iran has accumulated about 200 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% of weapons grade.

Grossi added that the agency does not have evidence that Tehran is building a nuclear weapon but Tehran is not fully cooperating with the IAEA.

“We have not been having the full cooperation of Iran in clarifying a few important things about the past and perhaps the present activities," he said, as around one third of the inspectors remain banned by Tehran.

Grossi said that with Donald Trump being sworn in as the US president “there is expectation that things may be moving again... to bring more certainty to this very volatile situation in Iran.”

On Tuesday, Grossi called on Iran to reach an understanding with the new US administration, expressing concerns about Tehran’s growing stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

According to the IAEA, Iran’s production of HEU has increased dramatically. In December, the country boosted its production capacity sevenfold to about 34 kilograms (75 pounds) per month, following a diplomatic censure in November.

Iran’s stockpile of 20% enriched uranium also grew by 18 kilograms in the last quarter, further raising concerns.

European powers, including France, Germany, and the UK, are also increasing their scrutiny. They have directed the IAEA to prepare a special report on Iran’s nuclear activities during the first half of 2025.

The report is expected to be presented to the United Nations Security Council, which may consider reimposing UN sanctions before they expire in October.

“I am disappointed but not surprised that President Trump has decided to terminate the protection,” Bolton said in a statement on X on Tuesday, adding that Joe Biden had given the protection despite his criticism of Biden's policies.

“The American people can judge for themselves which president made the right call,” he said, referencing Iranian threats, including an alleged plot against Trump himself.

The protection stemmed from Bolton’s role in Trump’s administration, where he was a key figure in the decision to kill Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force in January 2020.

In retaliation, the IRGC allegedly sought to orchestrate Bolton’s assassination.

“The Justice Department filed criminal charges against an Iranian Revolutionary Guard official in 2022 for attempting to hire a hitman to target me. That threat remains today,” Bolton added.

According to the US Justice Department, Shahram Poursafi, an Iranian operative, attempted to pay $300,000 to have Bolton killed in Washington DC or Maryland.

The decision to cut Bolton’s security comes as Trump is shaping his administration after his return to the White House. On his first day, Trump also announced he was firing Brian Hook, a former special envoy to Iran and an architect of sanctions against Tehran, after he served in the presidential transition.

US law enforcement has said Hook, like Bolton and Trump, was a target of an Iranian assassination plot.