Tajikistan hosts Iranian president on his first foreign visit of 2025
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Tajikistan for his first foreign visit of 2025.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has arrived in Tajikistan for his first foreign visit of 2025.
Announcing the visit, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, wrote on X, that the visit is a "symbol of the two nations' leaders’ commitment to further strengthening relations."
During the visit, approximately 20 cooperation agreements are expected to be signed between the two countries, according to Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Speaking to Iranian media, Araghchi said Tuesday that the agreements will span various sectors, including trade, investment, water and electricity industries, technical engineering services, transportation, tourism, university research, and more.
Abbas Araghchi addressed Iran’s stance on nuclear talks in an interview with state TV, saying discussions with Washington are not on the table because it withdrew from an international deal on the issue.
“We are not negotiating with the US government on nuclear issues until they return to the JCPOA or, in any case, announce their policy on this matter,” he said, referring to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
"The new US administration has not yet taken office. We will only participate in honorable negotiations based on mutual respect, not under pressure and sanctions, and for our own interests," he added.
"The JCPOA formula remains valid and in place."
Negotiators from Iran and the European E3 countries—France, Britain, and Germany—held a third round of talks on Iran's nuclear program in Geneva on Monday, according to an Iranian deputy foreign minister.
"We discussed ideas involving certain details in the sanctions-lifting and nuclear fields that are needed for a deal," Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X. Describing the talks as "serious, frank, and constructive," he noted that both sides agreed to continue their dialogue.
"Sides concurred that negotiations should be resumed and to reach a deal, all parties should create and maintain the appropriate atmosphere," he added.
The JCPOA, signed in 2015, aimed to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
The US withdrawal from the deal in 2018 under the first Trump administration led to renewed sanctions and escalated tensions. Efforts under the Biden administration to revive the deal have been marked by significant challenges, including disputes over sanctions and verification mechanisms.
Araghchi said that in Geneva, Iran will engage with representatives from the EU and three European countries in a bid to revive the nuclear agreement.
“The main goal of the two-day talks in Geneva with representatives from the three European countries and the European Union is to find a way to restart nuclear negotiations and resolve this issue,” Araghchi explained.
He affirmed Iran’s openness to dialogue, provided it adheres to Iran’s terms.
“Regarding the nuclear issue, Iran has never left the negotiation table nor said to oppose negotiations, as it is confident in the peaceful nature of its nuclear program. If there is an honorable and dignified negotiation, we will join it,” he said.
Talks on arms supplies to Russia
Araghchi signaled Iran’s readiness to negotiate with Europe on Ukraine, provided the talks address mutual concerns.
“If Europe complains about Iranian weapons being in Russian hands, it must also answer for its military cooperation in our region and with the Zionist regime. We are ready for dialogue with Europe, but it must be based on mutual concerns,” he added.
Iran has significantly increased its military support to Russia, supplying hundreds of Shahed-136 drones, which have been extensively used in Ukraine to target infrastructure and civilian areas.
In addition to direct deliveries, Iran has collaborated with Russia to establish a drone manufacturing facility in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone, which became operational in July 2023.
The factory aims to produce thousands of drones annually, bolstering Russia's self-sufficiency in drone production.
Beyond drones, Iran has supplied Russia with short-range ballistic missiles, with satellite imagery revealing shipments of 220 missiles in 2024.
"All the assassinations and acts of terror we see happening in Europe and elsewhere, can we see the footsteps of Iranian nationals or other nationals?" Pezeshkian was quoted as saying in translated remarks in a video preview of the NBC News interview.
"Have there been any links between those terrorist assassinations and Iran? Iran has never been in pursuit of assassination and acts of terror," he added.
Asked by anchor Lester Holt in the interview in Tehran whether Iran had plotted to kill Trump, Pezeshkian replied: "Never by no means."
Holt persisted, asking Pezeshkian if he would promise never to seek to kill Trump.
"Ever since the beginning, we never intended to do that," Pezeshkian said.
The US Justice Department in November unsealed murder-for-hire charges against an Afghan national it said was tasked by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with assassinating Trump.
Farhad Shakeri, 51, who is believed to be in Iran, was asked by an IRGC official "to put aside his other efforts on behalf of the IRGC and focus on surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating (Trump)", the department said.
"Shakeri indicated to IRGC Official-I that this would cost a 'huge' amount of money. In response, IRGC Official-I said that 'we have already spent a lot of money ... [s]o the money's not an issue'."
Iranian officials have repeatedly denied any plot to kill Trump. However, that contradicts several statements by high-ranking officials who have threatened the former US president in the past few years.
Following Khamenei’s proclamation of a “harsh revenge” against the US killing of Soleimani, his official account on X (then Twitter) published an image of Trump on a golf course under the shadow of a drone, hinting at his targeting. That post has since been deleted.
Khamenei’s official website also released an animation with the same theme, showing IRGC forces killing Trump using a robot.
Message of peace
In his interview with NBC News, Pezeshkian added that Tehran is committed to peace and de-escalation, in a dovish message likely aimed at the incoming US administration
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is committed to peace and de-escalation in the region and globally, condemns the Zionist regime's war-mongering, aggression, and genocide, and stands ready for honorable and equal negotiations," Masoud Pezeshkian added.
The Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation for Human Rights in Iran reported last year that the Islamic Republic had kidnapped, disappeared or extrajudicially 452 people beyond Iran's borders in its nearly half-century existence.
