Larijani says ‘positive atmosphere’ in Doha talks as Iran attempts to garner support
I spoke to Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, as he finished his meetings with Qatar’s emir and prime minister, and he told me that there had been “a very positive atmosphere.”
Asked about when a second round of talks would be held, he said they were still talking to all sides about that. There were talks with regional actors [that would have taken place] in Turkiye, but Iran rejected that, saying that the negotiations were broken when the US struck Iran while they were in talks in Oman [last year].
Doha is an important stop in Larijani’s trip, and he has just concluded a meeting with some Hamas political leaders in the Qatari capital as well. We saw that he also met the Houthis in Oman yesterday, as well as representatives from the government.
It appears that Iran is firing on a lot of fronts to try and avoid disaster, which many people here in Doha believe would affect the entire region.
Here are some of his key comments to Al Jazeera:
- Negotiations with Washington are ongoing, and countries in the region are striving to make the talks a success; our position on them is positive.
- We have not received a specific proposal from Washington.
- No one gave us nuclear technology; we achieved it through our own local efforts.
- Washington has concluded that a different approach to Iran, other than the military option, must be pursued … The United States has moved towards a rational path by engaging in negotiations.
- No negotiations on any other issue besides the nuclear programme [will occur]… There is common ground with Washington regarding our non-acquisition of nuclear weapons.
- There is no talk of zeroing out enrichment; we need it in the fields of energy and pharmaceutical manufacturing.
- Qatar is playing a positive role in mediation
- Israel is trying to sabotage the negotiation process and is looking for pretexts to ignite.
- Israel does not have plans against Iran alone, but targets the stability of the entire region.
- If the United States attacks us, we will target its military bases in the region.
‘Netanyahu pushing to derail US-Iran nuclear talks, favours escalation over diplomacy’
Phyllis Bennis, a longtime fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies and a sharp critic of US Middle East policy, tells Al Jazeera that Netanyahu’s overriding objective in talks with Trump remains clear: to prevent meaningful negotiations with Tehran from succeeding.
“It’s been clear for some time that Netanyahu’s goal here is to prevent negotiations,” she said. “And if there are to be negotiations, to essentially scuttle them.”
Bennis pointed out that Netanyahu has enjoyed extraordinary access to the Trump administration since the president’s second term began, making six visits to Washington already.
Trump, she noted, is eager for a deal with Iran — but one he can tout as superior to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) negotiated under President Obama.
“The reality is the deal Obama made was working,” Bennis emphasised. “The IAEA agreed with that, US intelligence agreed with that, Iran was abiding by the terms of the deal.” Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, not because Iran was violating it, but because he insisted he could secure something “better” — though no such improved deal ever materialised.
‘Israel has concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme, but never discusses its own’
Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies highlighted that most expert analyses, including US intelligence assessments, agree Iran is not currently pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Yet, the overlap between civilian nuclear technology and potential weapons capability fuels Israel’s public concern over the possibility of Iran developing nuclear weapons — and, she added, partly explains Israel’s history of assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists.
Iran has hinted at a willingness to cap uranium enrichment at 20 percent — a level useful for scientific research, but far below weapons-grade material. But broader issues, like restrictions on Iran’s missile programme, remain major sticking points, Bennis told Al Jazeera.
What’s conspicuously absent from the agenda, Bennis stressed, is any discussion of Israel’s own undeclared nuclear arsenal or the heavy US military presence in the region, including aircraft carriers and plans for additional deployments that Tehran views as highly threatening.
She expressed deep scepticism about the Trump administration’s approach to diplomacy. “This is not an administration known for careful calculation and weighing diplomacy,” Bennis said. “Diplomacy hasn’t been its strong suit.”
Instead, she noted, the focus appears to be on claiming credit for “ending wars” — even if it means using force to do so — while continuing policies she described as violations of international law, from support for genocide in Gaza to threats against other nations.
