The Iranian president says the door is open to nuclear inspectors before Trump-Netanyahu talks
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that his country is open to accepting international inspectors to prove that its nuclear program is “peaceful,” in statements marking the forty-seventh anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, while US naval forces in the region prepare for possible military strikes.
“We are not seeking nuclear weapons,” he said on February 11, at commemorations marking the deadly crackdown in which security forces killed thousands of people who took part in mass nationwide protests last month. “We have stated that repeatedly and are prepared for any verification.”
The campaign was strongly condemned by the United States and its allies and led to the mobilization of the US Navy, with US President Donald Trump telling protesters that Washington was coming to support them.
“We have a fleet heading there and another fleet may be heading,” Trump said in an interview with Axios on February 10. The current American deployment is the largest in years.
After talks between American and Iranian teams in Amman on February 6, Washington imposed additional sanctions on the Iranian oil sector. Further talks are expected but no date has been set.
The United States and Israel discuss Iran
Later on February 11, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington to discuss the situation. A statement from Netanyahu’s office said he wants talks with Iran to include its ballistic missile program and support for armed proxies and armed groups backed by Tehran in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
Alexander Gray, who served on the National Security Council during Trump’s first term in the White House, told RFE/RL that these are the issues that will likely determine whether strikes are launched, not efforts to help the Iranian opposition.
He added: “He doesn’t want to see these brutal crackdowns. But I think the president is a realist too.” “From the standpoint of the fundamental interest of the United States, as much as we condemn horrific human rights violations, I believe we are more likely to be effective in calling for changes in their proxy behavior and their missile and nuclear programs.”
US Vice President J.D. Vance appeared to confirm this as he left for a visit to Azerbaijan on February 11.
“If the Iranian people want to overthrow the regime, then it is up to the Iranian people,” he said. “What we are focusing on now is the fact that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. This has been the focus of the president’s policy, even going back to the first administration.”
