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Iran's security establishment is central to US talks, analyst says
Negotiations to prevent a new war between Iran and the US are continuing, and President Masoud Pezeshkian says the Supreme Leader has given his government certain powers. Analyst Sina Toossi told Al Jazeera that any agreement must have the backing of Iran's security-military establishment, as talks now cover the Strait of Hormuz and guarantees against renewed attacks.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government had been given “certain powers” by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei over negotiations with the United States, without giving details. The talks, mediated in part by Qatar and Pakistan, are aimed at preventing a new US escalation after a war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Al Jazeera reported that the strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top officials.
Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera that any agreement must have the backing of Iran’s security-military establishment. He said the different roles of Pezeshkian, former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezaei and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf appear to reflect a division of responsibilities within a centrally coordinated process under Khamenei, rather than competing centers of power. Rezaei, now secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, received a letter from US Vice President JD Vance and is expected to respond.
Iran has put forward a seven-point plan it says the US must abide by to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran is seeking an end to the US naval blockade, the lifting of oil and other sanctions, the release of frozen funds, a reduction in US military deployment around Iran and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Toossi said the real sticking point is not how quickly the Strait of Hormuz reopens but who controls the terms under which it stays open.
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