Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, declared in an interview with Lebanon’s Al-Mayadeen TV on Monday that “Iran is ready for any war.”
Shamkhani warned that any American strike on Iran would draw Israel into the conflict. “Israel and America are not two different elements. They are one entity. Our response to Israel is inevitable and is tied to their actions and steps,” he said.
The senior adviser addressed the expected talks with Washington and said Tehran is prepared for “practical negotiations with Washington and no one else, as Europe has proven its inability to do anything.” He further said the discussions will focus solely on the nuclear issue.
He stressed that Iran will not transfer its uranium enriched to 60 percent outside the country. “There is no reason to transfer the stored materials outside Iran. There is no need for all these complicated procedures. Our program is peaceful, our capabilities are domestic, and the 60% enrichment level can be reduced to 20%, but they must pay a cost,” he said.
Shamkhani added that Iran’s position in previous rounds of talks has not changed. “In the previous rounds [of talks], we had three no’s: we do not seek a nuclear weapon, we will not go to produce it, and we will not store it, and they must offer a price for that,” he said.
His comments follow reports that US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet on Friday in Istanbul to discuss a possible nuclear agreement.
US President Donald Trump has called for Iran to reach a deal with the US on its nuclear program, while leaving the military option on the table.
On Sunday, Trump responded to threats from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned the United States earlier that if “they start a war, this time it will be a regional war.”
“We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there… hopefully, we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right,” Trump said in a conversation with reporters.
Trump said on Saturday night that Iran is “seriously talking” with the US, adding that he hopes Iran accepts a deal which sees it giving up its nuclear weapons.
Trump envoy reportedly to meet with Iranian FM in Istanbul after country’s president orders start of negotiations; Kremlin offers to process or store
2 February 2026, 4:13 pm
Updated at 6:39 pm
(L-R) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on December 22, 2025 (ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP), Steve Witkoff at the White House, January 29, 2026 (AP Photo/Evan Vucci), and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on December 29, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, according to two senior Israeli officials.
The discussions will likely concern Iran, after Zamir was in Washington DC over the weekend for a series of discussions with American defense officials regarding the Islamic Republic.
Following his visit to Israel, Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi plan to meet on Friday in Istanbul to discuss a possible nuclear deal and other issues, a US official said on Monday.
“The president’s been calling for them to make a deal. The meeting is to hear what they have to say,” the official said.
Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt have been working to arrange the meeting, Axios reported earlier, citing two sources.
Meanwhile, Iranian media said on Monday that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the start of nuclear talks with the US after President Donald Trump said he was hopeful for a deal to avert military action against the Islamic Republic.
Following the Iranian authorities’ deadly response to anti-government protests that peaked last month, Trump threatened military action and ordered the dispatch of an aircraft carrier group to the Middle East.
Tehran, in response, has warned that if Trump orders strikes, Iran will target Israel and American military assets in the Middle East.
Netanyahu addressed these threats in a speech to the Knesset Monday, saying Israel was “ready for every scenario.”
“Whoever attacks us will face unbearable consequences,” the premier warned.
While piling pressure on Iran, Trump has maintained that he is hopeful of making a deal. Tehran has also insisted it wants diplomacy, even while vowing an unbridled response to any aggression.
“President Pezeshkian has ordered the opening of talks with the United States,” the news agency Fars reported, citing an unnamed government source.
In this handout picture provided by Iranian presidency, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian addresses cabinet members, as they visit of the tomb of the late Iranian revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in Tehran on January 31, 2026 (Handout/Iranian Presidency/AFP)
“Iran and the United States will hold talks on the nuclear file,” Fars said, without specifying a date.
The report was also carried by the government newspaper Iran and the reformist daily Shargh.
Without giving details on the content of any prospective negotiation, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, “Countries of the region are acting as mediators in the exchange of messages.
“Several points have been addressed and we are examining and finalizing the details of each stage in the diplomatic process, which we hope to conclude in the coming days,” he added. “This concerns the method and framework.”
Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Araghchi said he believes his country can reach an agreement with the US.
Others in the region are also keen to avoid the tensions with Iran boiling over, and Jordan’s top diplomat communicated as much in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart on Monday.
“Jordan will not be a battleground in any regional conflict or a launching pad for any military action against Iran,” Ayman Safadi told Araghchi, according to a Jordanian foreign ministry statement.
Safadi added that Amman, a US ally, “will not permit any party to violate its airspace or threaten its security and the safety of its citizens,” and stressed Jordan’s support for de-escalation and restoring calm.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that Russia is still trying to de-escalate tensions around Iran, noting that it had long ago offered its services to process or store Iran’s enriched uranium.
Asked if Russia was discussing with Iran and the US the possibility of taking Iranian enriched uranium, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “This topic has been on the agenda for a long time.”
“Russia has been offering its services for quite a long time as a possible option that would lead to the removal of certain irritants for a number of countries,” Peskov said.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shake hands during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“Right now, Russia is continuing its efforts, continuing its contacts with all interested parties, and maintains its readiness to de-escalate tensions around Iran to the best of its ability,” he said.
Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs during last year’s war, and has debilitated several of the terror groups funded by Tehran that seek Israel’s destruction. Trump has also warned Iran not to expand its ballistic missile stockpile.
Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.
Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.
Iran retaliated to Israel’s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel. The attacks killed 32 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.
“People are extremely angry,” a former official said, adding a US attack could lead Iranians to rise up again. “The wall of fear has collapsed. There is no fear left.”
Iranian demonstrators gather in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency’s value, in Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2026.(photo credit: STRINGER/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)
ByREUTERS, JAMES GENN
FEBRUARY 2, 2026 20:04Updated: FEBRUARY 3, 2026 10:11
Iran’s leadership is increasingly worried a US strike could break its grip on power by driving an already enraged public back onto the streets, following a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, according to six current and former officials.
In high-level meetings, officials told Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that public anger over last month’s crackdown, the bloodiest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has reached a point where fear is no longer a deterrent, four current officials briefed on the discussions said.
The officials said Khamenei was told that many Iranians were prepared to confront security forces again and that external pressure, such as a limited US strike, could embolden them and inflict irreparable damage to the political establishment.Unmute
One of the officials told Reuters that Iran’s enemies were seeking more protests so as to bring the Islamic Republic to an end, and “unfortunately,” there would be more violence if an uprising took place.
“An attack combined with demonstrations by angry people could lead to a collapse (of the ruling system). That is the main concern among the top officials, and that is what our enemies want,” said the official, who, like the other officials contacted for this story, declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks on during a meeting at the IRGC Aerospace Force achievements exhibition in Tehran, Iran November 19, 2023. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS)
The reported remarks are significant because they suggest private misgivings inside the leadership at odds with Tehran’s defiant public stance towards the protesters and the US.
The sources declined to say how Khamenei responded. Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on this account of the meetings.
Multiple sources told Reuters last week that US President Donald Trump is weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces and leaders to inspire protesters, even as Israeli and Arab officials said air power alone would not topple the clerical rulers.
People are extremely angry, says former official
Any such uprising in the wake of a US strike would stand in contrast to the Iranians’ response to Israeli and US bombing attacks on Iran’s nuclear program back in June, which was not followed by anti-government demonstrations.
But a former senior moderate official said the situation had changed since the crackdown in early January.
“People are extremely angry,” he said, adding a US attack could lead Iranians to rise up again. “The wall of fear has collapsed. There is no fear left.”
Tensions between Tehran and Washington are running high. The arrival of a US aircraft carrier and supporting warships in the Middle East has expanded Trump’s ability to take military action if he so wishes, after repeatedly threatening intervention over Iran’s bloody crackdown.
Regime must make major reforms or face wider protests, former president Rouhani states
The Iranian Regime needs to make major reforms, or it will face more protests, former president Hassan Rouhani was cited by The Telegraph as saying.
“People have demands and we must respond to them with a major reform, not a minor reform,” Rouhani said.
“If you make minor changes, God forbid, we might face problems again in two or three months, or even in 10 days,” he added.
Nasrollah Pejmanfar, a hardline member of the Iranian parliament, denounced Rouhani’s comments, stating that “Today is the time for major reform, which is the arrest and execution of Rouhani.”
‘The game is over,’ says former prime minister
Several opposition figures, who were part of the establishment before falling out with it, have warned the leadership that “boiling public anger” could result in a collapse of the Islamic system.
“The river of warm blood that was spilled on the cold month of January will not stop boiling until it changes the course of history,” former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who has been under house arrest without trial since 2011, said in a statement published by the pro-reform Kalameh website.
“In what language should people say they do not want this system and do not believe your lies? Enough is enough. The game is over,” Mousavi added in the statement.
Dire situation result of Khamenei’s destructive domestic, international interventions, policies, former parliament speaker Karroubi says
Iran’s current situation is the “direct result of destructive domestic and international interventions and policies” of Khamenei, former parliament speaker and reformist cleric Mehdi Karroubi was cited by The Telegraph as saying.
The “costly and fruitless nuclear project and the heavy consequences of sanctions over the past two decades on the country and people” were examples of failed policies, according to Karroubi.
“The depth of the tragedy [of protester deaths and injuries] is so deep that no excuse or justification can be accepted for this horrific and merciless massacre and disrespect for the bodies of victims,” he added.
The only way out of the crisis while maintaining the peace is to “recognize the right of the people to self-determination in a free referendum,” he stated.
Security forces destroying demonstrations with lethal force
During the early January protests, witnesses and rights groups said, security forces crushed demonstrations with lethal force, leaving thousands killed and many wounded. Tehran blamed the violence on “armed terrorists” linked to Israel and the US.
Trump stopped short of carrying out threats to intervene, but he has since demanded that Iran make nuclear concessions. Both Tehran and Washington have signaled readiness to revive diplomacy over a long-running nuclear dispute.
Simmering anger, ‘danger of bloodshed’
Analysts and insiders say that while the streets are quiet for now, deep-seated grievances have not gone away.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a public rally in Mashhad, Iran March 21, 2023. (credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)
Public frustration has been simmering over economic decline, political repression, a widening gulf between rich and poor, and entrenched corruption that leaves many Iranians feeling trapped in a system offering neither relief nor a path forward.
“This may not be the end, but it is no longer just the beginning,” said Hossein Rassam, a London-based analyst.
If protests resume during mounting foreign pressure and security forces respond with force, the six current and former officials said they fear demonstrators would be bolder than in previous unrest, emboldened by experience and driven by a sense that they have little left to lose.
One of the officials told Reuters that while people were angrier than before, the establishment would use harsher methods against protesters if it were under US attack. He said the result would be a bloodbath.
Ordinary Iranians contacted by Reuters said they expected Iran’s rulers to crack down hard on any further protests.
A Tehran resident whose 15-year-old son was killed in the protests on January 9 said the demonstrators had merely sought a normal life, and had been answered “with bullets.”
“If America attacks, I will go back to the streets to take revenge for my son and the children this regime killed.”
Iran’s Khamenei compares protesters to Islamic State
Amid the ongoing protests, Khamenei on Monday compared Iranian protesters to Islamic State terrorists in a post on X/Twitter.
In a post, the supreme leader claimed that “seditionists in Iran burned people alive. They beheaded people. They committed the very same atrocities that Islamic State committed.”
Khamenei, who refers to the protests as “sedition,” stated that a defining feature of the protests was violence and went on to claim that the protests in Iran were orchestrated by the United States and by “Zionists.”
