Jalali: Iran Ready for Talks if They Yield Tangible Results - Excl.

By Al Mayadeen English

Iran's ambassador to Russia tells Al Mayadeen that the international community should closely observe how Washington conducts itself at the table.

Tehran is prepared to engage in negotiations with the United States, provided that they produce tangible outcomes and deliver lasting peace to the region, Iran's Ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, stated on Thursday.

In an interview for Al Mayadeen, Jalali said, "If the Americans approach negotiations in good faith, they can lead to results," adding that the international community should closely observe how Washington conducts itself at the table.

He noted that trust between Iran and the United States remains insufficient, pointing to Washington's track record of failing to honor its commitments as the central obstacle. Jalali reaffirmed that Iran does not seek war, noting that "the Zionists and the Americans carried out the aggression against Iran; Iran was the victim in this war."

He added that Iran had come close to resolving outstanding issues in previous rounds of negotiations and reiterated that Tehran is not pursuing nuclear weapons.

US failed to achieve objectives

"Trump's statements contain many contradictions," the Iranian envoy said, describing the current confrontation as "a war of wills" and suggesting that public demonstrations are the clearest indicator of where the balance of resolve lies. "The Americans initially said they would overthrow the system, but they failed, and the situation turned upside down," Jalali said, adding that Washington and the West may have wrongly concluded that Iran is weak.

On Iran's military posture, Jalali said the country had achieved military successes despite the loss of several senior commanders, asserting that its institutions continue to function normally.

"They claimed to have destroyed our navy, yet our missiles remain operational despite all these allegations," he said, stressing that engaging in conflicts is not among Iran's priorities and that it seeks peace both regionally and globally.

Negotiators, date of talks yet to be confirmed

On the question of who will represent Iran in the talks set to be held in Pakistan, Jalali said the identity of the delegation head will be officially announced in due course. Sources cited by Iran's ISNA had reported that Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf would lead the Iranian negotiating team, opposite a US delegation headed by Vice President JD Vance, but an official confirmation from Tehran is still pending.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who brokered the two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States, stated on Wednesday that talks would begin on Friday in Islamabad. However, a post by Iran's ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri-Moghaddam, saying that an Iranian delegation would arrive in Islamabad on Thursday night was subsequently deleted. When asked about the removal, an embassy official told AFP, "Timing, we were not supposed to send it."

No ceasefire without Lebanon

The talks are taking place against the backdrop of an already fragile ceasefire, with Israeli attacks on Lebanon emerging as a potential dealbreaker for Tehran.

A ceasefire that encompasses Lebanon, alongside the rest of the Axis of Resistance, is explicitly listed as point 1 of Iran's ten-point proposal covering all, leading both Ghalibaf and President Pezeshkian to issue warnings Thursday that Israeli attacks on Lebanon are complicating the path to negotiations.

Pezeshkian stressed that continued Israeli escalation would render the ongoing negotiations meaningless, reaffirming that Iran will not abandon the Lebanese people.

Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh announced that Iran's delegation will head to Islamabad on the condition that "Israel" halts its aggression against Lebanon. He added that any peace in the region must include Lebanon, and that the coming hours will be decisive.

Strait of Hormuz, Russia's role

Jalali addressed the legal status of the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that its governance is determined by its littoral states, Iran and Oman, and that Iran's recent actions were aimed at upholding that legal framework rather than closing the waterway outright. "Iran has never sought to close the strait," he maintained.

On Iran-Russia relations, Jalali noted that Moscow condemned the aggression against Iran from the very first day, with direct communication between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Masoud Pezeshkian beginning early in the war.