A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to reopen negotiations with Iran this week over its nuclear program.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The talks in Turkey are expected to include U.S. allies in the region, including Turkey and Qatar, that have been trying to tamp down tensions. The proposed meeting comes as President Trump weighs military strikes on Iran.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's international affairs correspondent, Jackie Northam, has been following all this. Jackie, so we've been hearing about this buildup of U.S. naval and air defense capabilities in that region, and now this Witkoff meeting with Iranian officials. What's changed?
JACKIE NORTHAM, BYLINE: Well, there's been a real push by Mideast powers - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and others, as well as Turkey - to try and find a diplomatic solution to the crisis. Iran has warned, if the U.S. launches an assault, it could result in a regional war. And these countries are very business-oriented, and they need calm and stability in order to pursue some of their grand economic development plans in their countries. And a regional war will not help that, so they've been pressing Trump to try and find a diplomatic path. They're also meeting with Iran's leadership. So a lot of shuttling by the main players, and special envoy Witkoff is due to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv today.
MARTÍNEZ: OK. So the Turkey meeting - tell us who Witkoff will be meeting with and what they will be discussing.
NORTHAM: Well, one of the people is expected to be Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, and he's met with Witkoff several times last year. He's been active both in traveling around the region, doing interviews, where he's made it clear that Iran will be willing to talk, but it can't just be the U.S. dictating terms. Overnight, Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on social media that he's instructed Araghchi to pursue fair and equitable negotiations, provided a suitable environment exists. Those are his words. The U.S. wants Iran to give up its nuclear enrichment program and support for proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and limit its ballistic missile arsenal. And all three are long-standing elements of Iranian power in the region.
I spoke with Dana Stroul. And she's a Mideast specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and she doesn't think the regime in Tehran is in a deal-making mode. Here she is.
DANA STROUL: What the talks could achieve is to buy more time on the clock to continue to talk. The Iranians are pragmatic. They're going to work to appear willing to make concessions, but something not actually meaningful in terms of sufficient reassurances.
NORTHAM: And, A, Stroul says Iran comes to the negotiating table in a weakened position. Its proxy network was shattered by Israel last year, same as its air defenses. It's unclear about its nuclear program, but to be sure, its ballistic missiles are still a serious threat.
MARTÍNEZ: So, Jackie, if nothing maybe is going to happen, why are they having these talks? I mean, just to be polite to each other?
NORTHAM: To go through the process. You know, President Trump said this past weekend that hopefully they can make a deal. But, you know, he may be playing for time as much as the Iranians, so the U.S. can build up its military force in the region. That would give Trump a lot of leverage - you know, influence to get the kind of behavioral change he wants from the Iranians - but also give allies in the region reassurance that the U.S. is going to have their back, protect them if there is a move towards war with Iran. And the other thing, A - you know, this meeting might not take place. A lot can happen between now and Friday.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Jackie Northam. Jackie, thanks.
NORTHAM: Thanks very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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