In an article titled “These Talks Cannot Fail” published on Khabaronline news outlet, Mahmoudi stated that the very act of negotiation between Iran’s Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, and Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy for the Middle East, in Oman is inherently a diplomatic triumph for both Iran and the US. “A negotiation formally requested by the US and accepted by Iran.”
Regarding the focus of the Oman talks—namely Iran’s nuclear program—Mahmoudi emphasized that if US President Donald Trump intended to derail the Iran-US talks, he could have easily raised red-line issues for Iran, such as “missile disarmament,” or invited a vocal opponent of the Islamic Republic to the White House, which he did not.
According to the activist, this might be the first time a bilateral Iran-US negotiation faces no significant or overt opposition. Unlike the JCPOA, which faced open and influential opponents like Saudi Arabia, the Zionist regime, and Russia (albeit covertly), the current talks lack such resistance.
He said that today, for various reasons, neither Russia nor Saudi Arabia opposes the talks, nor do Europe or Israel dare openly object to Iran-US negotiations.
Mahmoudi also addressed domestic opposition to the nuclear deal in Iran, noting inside Iran, the “shadow government” has been effectively restrained by the establishment.
He added that, except for the Zionist regime, all UN member states will likely welcome the bilateral Iran-US talks to varying degrees. However, the European troika – France, Germany, and the UK-, Russia, and China are not entirely pleased about being sidelined from the negotiation table with Iran. Still, given their challenges with Trump, they prefer to play the role of “apparent supporters” for now.
Citing recent remarks by Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who, quoting the Supreme Leader, stated that legitimate US investment in Iran is permissible, Mahmoudi suggested that this approval might be the most significant reason to predict the success of the bilateral talks.
The Iranian media activist warned that a failure to reach an agreement in the upcoming talks would undoubtedly embolden the Zionist regime to continue its crimes against the Axis of Resistance and its aggressions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
