In the midst of tense relations with the West, Iran seeks to redefine its international status and the rules of engagement with Washington. Instead of a “reactive position” that responds to pressure, a new perception is being built — that of a “demanding side,” one that initiates, sets conditions, and dictates red lines.
This move reflects a profound shift in Iran’s strategy, combining a firm stance on the nuclear issue, careful management of a strained economy, and a broad cognitive struggle against the United States and Israel. At the same time, discourse in Tehran links global struggles with political changes in the U.S., viewing them as evidence of the erosion of Western hegemony.
New Rules of the Game: From Defense to Demand
In political discourse in Tehran, the declarations of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are not seen as door-slamming remarks but as “a re-definition of the diplomatic path with America.” Analysts such as Yasser Ashmi Rafsanjani (an intellectual and political commentator) and Hassan Khanizadeh (journalist and conservative analyst) point to a “strategic shift” in which Iran transitions from a defensive posture to that of a “demanding party.”
Khamenei, in a speech marking the 13 Aban day (also known as “Day of Struggle against Global Arrogance”), said: “The difference between the Islamic Republic and America is a fundamental difference, not a tactical one. It is a confrontation between two opposing currents – America and Islam.” And he added: “The American request for negotiations repeats itself, but we know its aim is compulsion, not understanding.”
The leadership does not rule out dialogue with the U.S., but shifts the balance: if Washington has a list of demands, “Tehran also has its strategic list on the table.”
Pre-Conditions and Red Lines
Tehran defines three explicit conditions which are not written as direct demands for negotiations but for “relations and cooperation”: ending U.S. support for Israel; withdrawal of U.S. bases from the region; and ending U.S. political and security interference in regional states.
Setting these conditions is taken as acceptance of the principle of cooperation, but the dispute is on the framework alone.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi asserted: “Nuclear negotiations are only nuclear negotiations.” The issues of missiles and regional presence, which in Tehran are considered “pillars of national security and deterrence,” are not on the negotiation table.
In a conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian emphasized: Iran accepts the possibility of dialogue, but “the U.S. and Europe must prove their sincerity and earn the trust of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” since “force and compulsion do not solve the problem, they intensify dispute and enmity.”
The Nuclear Issue and the IAEA: Inspections, Damages, and the Uranium Mystery
In the background, tensions continue with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Director General Rafael Grossi notes that “several inspections in Iran have been carried out since the Iran-Israel war in June last year,” but the IAEA “still does not have access to the most important nuclear facilities.” He mentioned Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, saying they were bombed by the U.S., and alleging “severe damage.”
The focus of concern is the nuclear stockpile: “deep concern” regarding 408 kg of highly-enriched uranium whose fate is “unclear,” along with calls for Iran “to increase cooperation,” and a clarification that one cannot say “Iran remains within the treaty, and then will implement its commitments.”
In response, Tehran appealed to the UN Security Council and the Secretary-General demanding “urgent investigation into the U.S. plan to display its nuclear weapons capabilities,” and defines U.S. statements as a “serious threat” to peace.
The Economy: Between Inflation, Domestic Production and a Gas & Digital Crisis
President Pezeshkian admitted that “the uncontrolled expansion of the administrative structure of the government” is a central factor in inflation, and called for strengthening management capacities and “consumption management.”
The gap between macro-economic data and the “burdensome reality of the cost of living” is deepening: inflation is “approaching 49%,” and “more than 35%” of citizens are under the poverty line. In the 2025 budget, wages for high-expenditure earners and large families were increased by up to 40%, but unemployment among university graduates aged 40 and under remained above 52%.
Production looks bleak: planning is hampered by the stagnation of raw materials and equipment in foreign-currency allocation processes, instability in management alongside sanctions on workers. Although senior officials emphasize there are “no signs of decline in oil revenues,” structural problems are eroding sovereign capital. At the same time, the warning of a gas shortage during winter is increasing.
Analyst Hamid Reza Zalahi warns of a “severe imbalance in the gas sector” and calls for increased transition to electricity and reduction of domestic gas consumption. The digital economy, defined globally as a magnet for investment, “stagnates” due to governmental intervention and incorrect pricing. Ahsan Cheitsaz, Deputy Director-General for Policy and Planning at the Iranian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, says that “state intervention turned the innovation field unattractive and caused capital flight and a slowdown in entrepreneurship,” proposing “not to lead, but to enable.”
Regional Pressures and the “Corridor” Program
In the Lebanese arena, foreign networks report that U.S. envoy Thomas Barak gave Lebanon “a short time” to act regarding the dismantling of Hezbollah weapons, while Israel “prepares for a new war.” The message to Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was conveyed bluntly: “Put down the tube, and say ‘let’s finish this ridiculous game.’”
Regarding the Gaza front, Iranian media claim there is a U.S. proposal to establish an international force by the end of 2027 that would supervise the borders and disarm the “Palestinian resistance groups,” while Hamas emphasizes “any security force in the Gaza Strip must be Palestinian” and sees the plan as “a total rejection of the idea of an occupying military force.” In this context, South-African Judge Navanethem Pillay, who leads the UN investigation against Israel in the war, is quoted as saying “Israel deliberately murdered 4,000 unborn…”, attacking “the neonatal ward” at Al-Basmeh hospital, as another finding of “genocide.”
Alongside the current affairs, Iranian analyses present the “Kiryat Shmona corridor” as a revival of the “Greater Israel” vision: a land corridor from “northern occupied Palestine” through the Golan and southern Syria eastwards to “Kirkuk and the Euphrates,” intended to connect to oil resources and project influence, part of the ideas of various plans that break up states along ethnic-religious lines.
Internal Power Struggles and Cognitive Warfare
In the internal Iranian arena, following the Zanjani–Tabatabai affair, Iranian media focus mainly on corruption and money-laundering battles. According to local journalists, the affair illustrates how “corruption files still serve as a platform for political and party disputes.” The public confrontation, starting from parliamentary lawsuits to calling MPs “kids” or “big thieves,” deepens the erosion of public trust in the system’s ability to deal with corruption.
At the same time, an analysis published on Imperialism warns of the “invisible struggle of psychological warfare” by Washington: “psychological operations and consciousness engineering” via female media celebrities “with suppressed faces, voice and emotional image,” meant to “conquer consciousness and emotions” and confer legitimacy on external intervention.
The New York Elections Resonate in Tehran
Zoran Mamdani’s victory and his rise to the office of New York Mayor is interpreted in Iran as a “trend change” that undermines the international legitimacy of the “Jewish state.”
Israeli media responded with “anger and anxiety.” For example, Yedioth Ahronoth warned of the downfall of New York as “the largest safe haven for Jews,” and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu accused Jewish supporters of Mamdani of “raising their hands to support antisemitism in the heart of America.”
Mamdani himself seized the stage to take aim at U.S. President Donald Trump and declared: “The future is in our city (New York) built by immigrants, driven by immigrants, and from tonight, led by an immigrant,” emphasizing his belonging to “the working class, not the 1 percent.”
