Talks with Tehran would betray the Iranian people, prominent activist says

Negotiating with the Islamic Republic gives Tehran's rulers legitimacy and betrays the people of Iran, exiled journalist and activist Masih Alinejad said on Friday.

"Supporting the Islamic Republic in any form, through negotiations or financial relief, betrays the Iranian people and strengthens a dictatorship that will never reform," she said in a post on X.

"Western policymakers must learn from past mistakes," she added in a shark rebuke to the idea of talks mooted by US President Donald Trump.

"The 2015 nuclear deal (JCPOA) failed because it provided a financial lifeline of billions of dollars to the regime, which it spent on its military and security forces rather than improving the lives of ordinary Iranians," she added.

Trump pulled out of that international deal in 2018 and imposed his so-called "maximum pressure" campaign of sanctions, which he renewed this month.

Still, Trump said he much preferred a deal over Iran's disputed nuclear program over any military action.

Alinejad, who is based in the United States, is a prominent voice advocating for women's rights and the overthrow of Iran's nearly 50-year-old theocracy. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has plotted to kill her in exile, US law enforcement alleges.

She is in Germany for the Munich Security Conference, the premier annual forum for discussion of international security policy among top leaders.

For the third consecutive year, the organizers have excluded Iranian government representatives.

"I am pleased that Javad Zarif and Abbas Araghchi have been excluded from this conference despite all their efforts," she told Iran International in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.

"This is a positive step, but it is not enough. The West must take more fundamental steps to expel and isolate this terrorist government from all global arenas, which is certainly not an easy task," she added.

In a video post on X the previous night, referring to Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi's exclusion from the event, Alinejad said, "The exclusion of one of the opponents of the Islamic Republic from the Munich Security Conference is unacceptable."