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“We do not confirm or deny details of ongoing negotiations,” said a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council.
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Trump has previously spoken of Iran’s economic potential. And earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that he asked Russian President Vladimir Putin — an ally of Iran — to help broker talks with Tehran.
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“I want Iran to prosper,” Trump said this month. “I don’t want to do anything that will hurt anyone, but Iran can’t have nuclear weapons. We don’t want to take away their industry or their land.”
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who grudgingly approved the Obama-era 2015 nuclear agreement that Trump later abandoned — has said he sees no reason why American investors shouldn’t spend their money in the Islamic Republic, according to President Masoud Pezeshkian.
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The stakes in the negotiations are arguably much higher for Iran than the US. Trump’s threatened to bomb nuclear facilities if Tehran doesn’t accept a deal.
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Moreover, the Islamic Republic’s regional influence has been significantly weakened by Israel’s war with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and its bombardment of Hezbollah last year. Syria’s ex-President Bashar al-Assad, another ally of Tehran, was toppled in December.
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Khamenei’s hardline supporters appear to have fallen in line with Araghchi’s approach to Washington. It’s a sign the clerical establishment is under pressure to address an economic crisis that’s amplifying its widespread unpopularity at home.
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“They don’t have many cards up their sleeves in terms of negotiations, they’re less threatening than a few years ago and their proxies have lost a lot of their influence,” said Homayoun Falakshahi, head of crude oil analysis at Kpler. “They’re trying to say to the US that you can benefit from a deal with us and we are open to your companies to invest.”
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While the 2015 nuclear deal suspended a raft of secondary US restrictions, it didn’t remove primary sanctions and the US Treasury continued to prohibit direct American investment in the Iranian economy.
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After Trump walked away from that accord, his hardline approach, dubbed “maximum pressure,” reimposed sanctions and went much further, including banning other countries’ purchases of oil from the OPEC member.
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Iran’s oil exports slumped, foreign companies left, and the currency cratered in value — it’s lost almost 90% of its value against the dollar since 2018. The country faced a fuel and power crisis last winter.
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Oil and gas officials are trying to woo foreign money to cover the $135 billion bill they say is required to fix the energy industry.
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“It will be one of the latest huge opportunities for oil and gas companies globally,” Falakshahi said, adding that the financial terms offered by Iran to foreign companies will be crucial.
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