Iran is quietly resuming indirect nuclear talks with the US despite strong opposition from hardliners, The Telegraph can reveal.

Tehran’s supreme national security council told the foreign ministry to reopen talks with the Trump administration, aiming to revive diplomacy after a 12-day war with Israel last month that saw the US bomb key Iranian nuclear sites.

Tehran and Washington held five rounds of talks from April 12. The sixth round was cancelled after Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13.

A senior Iranian official who spoke to The Telegraph from Tehran said: “The supreme national security council has told the foreign ministry to resume negotiating with America to persuade Trump that Israel was wrong to strike Iran.”

“The other goal is to stop the reimposition of UN sanctions before it’s too late,” the official added, referring to a provision in the 2015 nuclear deal that would see sanctions automatically come into effect on Oct 18 if Iran breaches its nuclear commitments.

It came after reports emerged that Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s envoy, was due to travel to Oslo next week to restart nuclear talks with Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister.

Mr Araghchi wrote in a Lebanese newspaper this week: “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s acceptance of the request to stop the war has created another opportunity for comprehensive diplomacy.”

It was not immediately clear whether Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, was aware of the renewed talks. He has not been seen in public since before the start of hostilities with Israel, which ended in a fragile ceasefire brokered by Donald Trump.

Khamenei holds ultimate authority over Iran’s political, military and ideological matters, including foreign policy and national security. The president and parliament operate under his influence.

The disappearance has fuelled speculation about his health, whereabouts and the stability of the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian official who spoke to the Telegraph said the new talks are expected to take place quietly, without publicity, due to strong opposition from hardliners in Tehran.

Sepehr Khalaji, who was a senior official in the administration of former Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, has warned officials against engaging in any talks with the United States.

Khalaji said Tehran should avoid dialogue with Washington after “America martyred 1,000 of your citizens, struck our nuclear facilities, violated our airspace, took our commanders and scientists, and threatened our supreme and beloved leader”.

The Iranian regime celebrated the end of the war as a “victory”, however this unity has quickly descended into disagreements between hardliners and moderates over the country’s future.

Hardliners believe they have a chance to bring the country together and show the West’s weakness, while moderates say the the regime should be open to dialogue.

Under hardline influence, Iran’s parliament has banned International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from entering sensitive nuclear sites. These included Fordow, which Iranian officials confirmed was “seriously and extensively” damaged during the US attack.

The last UN nuclear inspector left Tehran on Friday morning.

Iran has intensified its long-standing criticism of the IAEA, with some lawmakers and regime-affiliated media issuing death threats against Rafael Grossi, its director general.

The agency has confirmed that its inspectors have now left Iran, which means the regime could continue its nuclear work without international oversight.

Moderate officials in Tehran are however reportedly urging the Khamenei to engage with the West.

Concerned about the potential for further conflict, former president Hassan Rouhani has asked top clerics to help push for a change in the establishment’s position.

He warned that if the crisis continues, the Islamic Republic could collapse and the role of the clergy could weaken.

Ali Larijani, the former parliament speaker, has also reportedly tried to use his influence and family ties to convince Khamenei to allow talks with the US.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Iranians struggled with quiet moments of fear and anxiety for 12 days of war

Iran Life Under Airstrikes 

 For 12 days, Tehran fell dark and silent, except for the sound of explosions. In their houses and apartments, Iranians tried to pass the hours — sleepless, eyes on the TV for news of the war.

A series of images document the moments in which residents of Iran’s capital struggled to hold onto something familiar amid the uncertainty. They were taken by a freelance photographer and obtained by The Associated Press outside of Iran. The AP is publishing them on condition of anonymity over fears for the photographer’s safety.

The photos, made under unpredictable and often unsafe conditions amid evacuation alerts and falling missiles, show the tension between normalcy and chaos.

Israel said its campaign aimed to cripple Iran’s nuclear facilities, which its officials maintain are for peaceful means. Israel's strikes also pounded buildings around Tehran, while Iran fired back with barrages into Israel. A ceasefire began June 24.

For 12 days, Tehran was transformed. The city normally bustles at all hours, its highways packed with cars and apartment towers lit up. During the war, most of the population fled. At night, blackness descended on the city.

Those who remained largely stayed indoors. Outside their windows came the rhythm of explosions — sometimes distant, sometimes close enough to shake them — and the crackle of air defenses.

One night, a group of friends gathered for dinner at a Tehran home. The table was full, the atmosphere warm. Guests joked with one another. But even as they dished up food and sat down in the living room to eat, everyone was glued to the television for any news.

The next night, one of the largest and most powerful explosions in Tehran struck a short distance from where they had gathered.

For Sara, a 9-year-old Afghan girl, reading and drawing in her sketchbook helped her endure the days at home. She sat on the living room floor with her markers, turning to see the TV.

Her family fled to Iran to escape the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan four years ago; now during Israel’s campaign, they were living through a new war. The family stayed inside not just for fear of strikes. They also worried they might be detained and deported amid wartime suspicion of Afghan refugees among some.

“Afghanistan is my homeland, and so is Iran. I have two countries that feel like one,” Sara said. On one page of her sketchbook, she wrote, “Mursal, I love you, my dear” — a message for her best friend, whose family fled back to Afghanistan during the bombardment.

Sara and others are only being identified by their first names out of concern for their security.

During the day, some might step outside between blasts, capturing smoke rising in the distance with their phones. After one strike hit a building, a puddle of blood remained on the street.

Evacuation alerts often came late at night. Some people spent nights in subway stations for safety. They lay down sheets and blankets on the tile floor or sat on the steps, scrolling through their phones as fighter jets and explosions could be heard on the streets above.

Maryam and daughter Mastaneh live in a middle-class Tehran neighborhood. During the war, their usually active home fell quiet; both became anxious and withdrawn.

Before the war, Maryam would wake at 6 a.m., go to the gym, then head to work at a hotel. But once the bombardment began, the hotel closed. Maryam’s workout routine fell apart. She couldn’t sleep at night and wound up waking late in the day. Depressed and exhausted, she couldn’t bring herself to do housework.

Meanwhile Mastaneh, a university student studying French, struggled with the internet cutoffs that made it nearly impossible to take her online final exams.

One explosion from a strike blasted only a few blocks away.

The war’s final day was the most terrifying, Maryam said, as the sound of explosions never stopped.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Iran won’t attack the US but will continue nuclear development, senior Iranian official says

Iran does not plan to respond further to the U.S. strikes on its nuclear program, the Iranian deputy foreign minister said on Thursday — but the country still pledges to forge ahead with its nuclear development program despite the attack.

Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi said Iran had “already responded” to the U.S. attack on its three nuclear enrichment facilities late last month, telling NBC News that the country had no plans for additional retaliation in a signal of a temporary calm between the U.S. and Iran following a 12-day war between Iran and American ally Israel.

“We have already responded to that,” Takht-Ravanchi said when asked if Iran planned to strike America directly in response to the U.S. attack. “As long as there is no active aggression perpetrated by the United States against us, we’ll not respond again.”

Iran launched a missile attack on the American Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar following the U.S. bombing. Qatari defenses successfully blocked the attack after Iran gave advance notice of the strike, a move that appeared to signal Iran’s intent to deescalate the situation after a nearly two-week war with Israel culminated in the U.S.’s direct engagement.

President Donald Trump projected a correspondingly conciliatory tone in the wake of the Iranian strike, posting on Truth Social a message of gratitude for Iran’s advance warning and declaring that “they’ve gotten it all out of their ‘system.’”

Trump — who has promised to end multiple raging wars in his second term, as he openly angles for the Nobel Peace Prize — has claimed that the U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities were a smashing success, saying the strikes “obliterated” the facilities and railing against reports that the attacks only set the program back by several months.

Iran has remained tight-lipped about the true impact of the strikes, prompting concern that the attacks have driven its nuclear program further underground. Already, the country has moved to halt cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, further shrouding its program from the globe.

“The damage is serious,” Takht-Ravanchi said of the American attack, without elaborating further.

Iran, which claimed that it moved its uranium stockpiles in advance of the U.S. attacks, has also been unwavering in its determination not to relinquish its enrichment program, despite American demands that it do so in order to reach a nuclear deal.

“Our policy has not changed on enrichment,” Takht-Ravanchi reiterated to NBC. “Iran has every right to do enrichment within its territory. The only thing that we have to observe is not to go for militarization.”

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

U.N. nuclear inspectors depart Tehran after Iran ends cooperation

U.N. nuclear inspectors on Friday departed from Iran two days after the Middle Eastern nation suspended cooperation with the program and weeks after the United States and Israel bombed nuclear sites.

Rafael Grossi, the inspector general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had aimed to assess the uranium-enrichment facilities and see whether alleged nuclear bomb efforts had been set back.

IAEA hasn't reported the inspectors findings.

They remained in the capital, Tehran, during the conflict between Israel and Iran.

"An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict," the U.N. agency posted Friday on X.

"IAEA Director General rafaelmgrossi reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible."

On Wednesday, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian signed legislation that halts cooperation with the agency, blocking oversight of Iran's nuclear program.

Inspectors will not be allowed to visit nuclear sites without approval from Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Iranian lawmakers gave two conditions for resuming cooperation, according to state media. The safety of its nuclear program and scientists is secured, and an acknowledgment about its right under international law to enrich uranium.

The spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Iranian law was "obviously concerning."

"I think the secretary-general has been very consistent in his call for Iran to cooperate with the IAEA, and, frankly, for all countries to work closely with the IAEA on nuclear issues," Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Iran has been critical of a resolution on June 12 by the IAEA that accused Iran of non-compliance with its nuclear obligations.

This was one day before Israel attacked.

Iran and the United States had been engaged in talks for a nuclear deal. The U.S. used B-2 bombers to send missiles deep underground.

"We are for diplomacy," Iran's deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, told NBC News on Thursday, adding the U.S. government needs "to convince us that they are not going to use military force while we are negotiating. That is an essential element for our leadership to be in a position to decide about the future round of talks."

President Donald Trump, who doesn't want Iran to be enriching uranium, said that the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites "obliterated" the program.

Grossi earlier said that Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium remains unaccounted for, and the program may have been delayed only a few months, and not years.

"It can be, you know, described in different ways, but it's clear that what happened in particular in Fordo, Natanz, Isfahan, where Iran used to have and still has, to some degree, capabilities in terms of treatment, conversion and enrichment of uranium have been destroyed to an important degree," Grossi said in a CBS News interview on Saturday. "Some is still standing. So there is, of course, an important setback in terms of those of those capabilities."

Iran has contended its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes but the agency reported in May that Iran stockpiled about 900 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity, enough to build nine bomb. That's up 50% since February.

In December, the IAEA said Iran was rapidly moving closer to the 90% threshold needed for weapons-grade material.

In 2018, Trump unilaterally exited the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and reimposed harsh sanctions during his first term in office.

In 2015, Iran reached a deal with the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Trump administration hits Iran with sanctions, ramps up economic pressure

The Trump administration hit Iran with fresh sanctions targeting its oil sales and the Hezbollah network, as part of a pressure campaign that the U.S. hopes will further hobble Tehran after last month's strikes on its nuclear sites.

The U.S. said it would sanction companies and vessels involved in the covert delivery and sale of Iranian oil. It also hit a financial institution it said was associated with Hezbollah, a militant group that's backed by Iran and the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.

“As President Trump has made clear, Iran’s behavior has left it decimated.  While it has had every opportunity to choose peace, its leaders have chosen extremism,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “Treasury will continue to target Tehran’s revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime’s access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities.”

Trump's administration has spent months trying to convince Tehran to enter into a nuclear deal that would put an end to Iran's uranium enrichment program. After five rounds of talks failed to produce an agreement, Israel launched a bombing campaign in June against Iran that the U.S. military later joined with airstrikes, deploying bunker-buster bombs that the Trump administration says destroyed Tehran's nuclear sites and its program back by at least a year.

U.N. inspectors have not been able to access the nuclear facilities. But the head of its nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Rafael Grossi, said the sites appear to have suffered "severe" but not "total damage" in an interivew with CBS News that was released on June 28.

Trump said at a June 27 news conference that he did not "believe that they're going to go back into nuclear anytime soon." But if he did receive a report that Iran was enriching uranium at a level that concerns him, Trump said he would consider bombing the country again, "without question."

"They're exhausted. And Israel's exhausted too," Trump said at another point. "The last thing they're thinking about right now is nuclear. You know what they're thinking of? They're thinking about tomorrow, trying to live. It's such a mess. It's such a mess. The place was bombed to hell."

Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said afterwards on "Face the Nation" that the country will “never stop” its enrichment program.