Iran emphasizes national security council role in nuclear talks with US
The Iranian government stressed that any decisions on potential nuclear talks would be made within the framework of the Supreme National Security Council, in a nod to the conservative establishment.
The remarks from the spokeswoman of the relatively moderate government appeared aimed at reassuring hardliners that any talks will be subject to strict oversight and not diverge from the priorities of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s said earlier this month he was ready to engage in talks with the US administration of Donald Trump.
However, the move prompted questions within Iran about whether he had higher-level approval for such an initiative.
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani addressed domestic concerns, particularly from hardliners wary of negotiations with the West, emphasizing the established and controlled nature of the decision-making process.
"In important matters such as the nuclear issue, the matter is raised and reviewed in the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), and the approvals of the council also specify what path must be followed for implementation," Mohajerani said in an interview with ILNA news agency on Sunday.
Mohajerani further urged against internal political disputes affecting foreign policy: "We should all be aware that foreign policy issues and national issues in general should not become an arena for factional and transnational disputes. We must proceed with consensus and agreement on foreign policy issues."
The SNSC is tasked by the Constitution to define national security and defense policies within the framework set by Khamenei.
The Supreme Leader appoints the SNSC secretary and holds final approval power over all SNSC decisions, placing him and the council at the center of Iran's foreign policy apparatus.
The SNSC formulates Iran's nuclear policy, subject to the Supreme Leader's ratification. The SNSC secretary also led nuclear negotiations until 2013, when the responsibility was assigned to the foreign ministry.
In recent weeks, several politicians and commentators in Iran have indicated that President Masoud Pezeshkian has received approval from the Supreme Leader and the Supreme National Security Council to initiate negotiations with the United States despite the two nations breaking ties in 1980.
However, none of the authorities have officially confirmed that they have authorized any such negotiations with the United States regarding Iran's nuclear program or other contentious issues.
Pezeshkian has tacitly conveyed Tehran's willingness to engage in talks with the US, but Khamenei’s hardline allies have strongly criticized both his remarks and those of other officials who advocate for talks.
Such discussions in Iran come as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continues to express concerns about the level of access its inspectors have to Iranian nuclear facilities.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, said, "We are not inspecting at the levels or at the places that we believe we should be inspecting.”
He also highlighted that Iran has accumulated approximately 200 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, a level dangerously close to weapons-grade.
While Grossi acknowledged the IAEA has no concrete evidence of a current Iranian nuclear weapons program, he reiterated that Tehran is not fully cooperating with the agency.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also addressed the issue at Davos, calling on Iran to definitively renounce nuclear weapons and improve relations with its regional adversaries and the United States.
"The most relevant question is Iran and relations between Iran, Israel and the United States," Guterres said. "Here my hope is that the Iranians understand that it is important to once and for all make it clear that they will renounce to have nuclear weapons, at the same time that they engage constructively with the other countries of the region."