PUBLISHED on August 18, 2025, 10:40 AM EDT – Key Points and Summary: Under intense pressure, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly endorsed a return to nuclear negotiations with the West.

-The move comes as the regime faces a late-August deadline for “snapback” sanctions and reels from a devastating war with Israel that has set back its nuclear program.

-This strategic shift is causing internal friction, highlighted by a public backlash against hardliner Saeed Jalili, who compared a return to diplomacy to “worshipping the golden calf.”

-The internal debate reveals a regime at a crossroads, weighing the costs of defiance against the necessity of survival.

Iran Changing Tactics? Insiders Say Khamenei Is Preparing to Negotiate With Washington

Despite the increasingly aggressive nature of Iranian threats to the United States and Israel, including a promise of a “harsher” response to future strikes by Iran’s armed forces chief of staff this week, the Islamic Republic is reportedly preparing a major shift in strategy.

Multiple sources indicate that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has quietly endorsed the resumption of nuclear negotiations with Western powers, despite continued demands for the country to drop its nuclear ambitions entirely.

According to insiders, Khamenei and his closest clerical allies have concluded that a return to the table is necessary to preserve the long-term stability of the regime.

While Tehran’s foreign ministry has not yet commented on the reports, the move comes at a moment of deep strain for the regime. The war with Israel earlier this summer, which claimed the lives of several senior Iranian military commanders and top nuclear scientists, has not only isolated the country even further but set back its nuclear program substantially. Reports indicated this month that surviving nuclear scientists have been moved to safe locations over fears that they will be targeted by future Israeli strikes.

The decision, should it be confirmed, likely reflects internal calculations about the costs of continued defiance. With the likelihood of pre-2015 sanctions being reimposed after the end of this month rising, oil revenues undercut by Western pressure, and a weakened military, Iran is now under major pressure to reconsider tactics.

Is the Regime Changing Tactics?

The news follows reports that a hardline Islamic Republic figure faced domestic backlash amid a reshuffle of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for a public comment denigrating nuclear talks with the West.

Saeed Jalili, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council and former secretary of the SNSC, sparked anger when he likened an internal push towards diplomacy to scripture.

In an August 7 post on social media platform X, Jalili said that the prospect of Iran negotiating with the West was “as if our nation hasn’t won at all.”

“The Children of Israel, after defeating Pharaoh, turned to worshipping the golden calf when their prophet was absent for 40 days. Similarly, today, after the enemy attacked us in the midst of negotiations and the Iranian nation emerged victorious, some are now calling for a return to the same disastrous path as before!” Jalili wrote.

The comments proved controversial not only among his colleagues in Tehran, but in state-run media. Tasnim News described the comments as “wrong and radical,” while Khorosan criticized his veiled criticism of the Supreme Leader.

“Why do you think the Supreme Leader is absent? The nation you call calf worshippers deserves respect,” an editorial reads. 

For now, Jalili will keep his position, suggesting Khamenei and the regime still see a role for the hardline official. The next two weeks, however, could see those discussions bubble over as officials decide whether to move ahead with diplomacy before the U.S.-imposed deadline of August 31 for Iran to agree to a new deal, or commit to engage constructively and renege on plans to rebuild its nuclear program.

About the Author:

Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.

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