As Iran and the United States appear to inch closer to talks, a protester calls on Trump to

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday that he had asked the country’s foreign minister to “conduct fair and equitable negotiations” with the United States after weeks of escalating tensions with the Trump administration. It was the first clear sign from Iran that it could participate in talks expected to take place later this week.

The decision came after “requests from friendly governments in the region to respond to the US president’s proposal to negotiate,” Pezeshkian said in a social media post. “I have instructed my Foreign Minister, provided there is an appropriate environment, free from threats and unreasonable expectations, to conduct fair and equitable negotiations, guided by the principles of dignity, prudence and convenience.”

“I would like to see a negotiated agreement,” President Trump said Monday. “Right now, we’re talking to them, we’re talking to Iran, and if we could get a deal, that would be great. And if we can’t, bad things would probably happen.”

Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with the possibility of a new military attack, as what he calls an “armada” of American warships heads to the Persian Gulf. He initially said The United States could strike if Iran killed protesters amid its brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrations that shook the country in early January. Last week he made the same threat, but said an attack could be launched. if Iran refuses to negotiate a new agreement about its nuclear program.

Top US envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to the region, and Gulf countries including Turkey and Qatar have been working to arrange talks for later this week. The White House has not confirmed that Witkoff will attend negotiations with Iranian officials. The foreign ministers of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have also been invited to participate in the talks, if they take place, The News reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed regional official.

Iranian protester tells News themezone Trump should ‘keep his word’

“Our greatest fear is that if [the Iranian government] remain in power, they want revenge, because people crossed their red line by taking to the streets, shouting ‘death to Khamenei and the Islamic Republic,'” Zahra, who participated in the protests when they peaked on Jan. 8 and 9, told News themezone on Friday.

His name has been changed to protect his identity.

He said people in Iran would support a US intervention to overthrow the regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“People with no ties to the regime want them gone at any cost. They want Khamenei removed or arrested or whatever. But they want the Islamic regime gone,” Zahra said. “Every one of them, from the so-called hardliners – Khamenei’s closest circle – to those who were known as reformists… we want them all to go, because they are a system. They have been working together and they are complicit in this.”

Zahra said that during the protests in Iran, “we saw President Trump’s tweets on satellite TV. We read when he said, ‘Help is on the way.’ People trusted him. People trusted him a lot. And people took to the streets.”

He asked Trump to “keep his word.”

“We tried every possibility and everything was peaceful,” Zahra said. “People were unarmed and shot in large crowds. So what I see is that these people have done everything they can for a better future. And now there is an understanding among them that we cannot do it alone.”