Shariatmadari asserted that while previous supporters of dialogue might have been considered misled, the latest events leave “no room for doubt.”
He wrote, “Tuning the sour melody of talks with America, if not treason – which it is – is undoubtedly a sign of stupidity. And a traitor and a fool are two sides of the same coin.”
Citing repeated warnings by Iran’s Leader over the past three decades, Shariatmadari referenced a speech from February 2025 in which Ayatollah Khamenei called talks with the US “irrational and dishonorable.”
Still, the Leader permitted limited indirect talks under strict conditions, aiming to expose “false political dichotomy” crafted by pro-Western media.
The editorial further blamed the US for recent military aggression and attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites during the fifth round of indirect negotiations, calling it evidence of America’s untrustworthiness and the futility of diplomacy.