Iranian newspapers, which reflect a broad spectrum of political views, provided diverse coverage about the prospects of talks between President Hassan Rouhani and President Donald Trump. For months, French President Emmanuel Macron has engaged in behind-the-scenes diplomacy to defuse escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington. On the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, he held separate talks with Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. On Aug 26, in a joint press conference with Trump, Macron said he hoped for direct talks between the two presidents—which would be the first since the 1979 revolution—"in the coming weeks.”
“An agreement can be met. We know the terms, we know the objectives, but we have to just now sit around the table and make that happen,” Macron told reporters. Trump predicted a “really good chance” that he would meet Rouhani. Trump has repeatedly said he wants a meeting to broker a deal with Iran that goes beyond the 2015 nuclear agreement brokered by the world’s six major powers.
“I think Iran wants to get this situation straightened out,” Trump said. U.S. terms are “no nuclear weapons, no ballistic missiles, and a longer period of time” on so-called sunset clauses on Iran’s nuclear program. “Very simple. We can have it done in a very short period of time.” The following is a rundown of headlines and frontpages from a range of Iranian papers.
Sazandegi (centrist newspaper) on August 27
Rouhani: I Won’t Spare Meeting Anyone
Macron: I Asked Rouhani Today to Meet Trump
Trump: Iran Has Great Power, and We Don’t Seek Regime Change
Aftab-e Yazd (reformist newspaper) on August 27
Will Rouhani Meet Trump?
Macron: Iranian, U.S. Presidents May Meet in Next Weeks
Javan (hardline newspaper) on August 27
Mr Rouhani! Photo-Diplomacy Won’t Make Develop the Country!
Macron, Rouhani Exchange Messages that Grounds Prepared for Trump-Rouhani Meeting
Trump Says Won’t Give Iran Anything, but Rouhani Hears It as Meeting for Development!
Kayhan (hardline newspaper) on August 28
Trump and Macron’s Insult the Result of Passive Diplomacy
Iran to Increase Stockpiles of Enriched Uranium to 50 Tons
Mardom Salari (reformist newspaper) on August 28
Rouhani Elaborates on Iran’s Policy on Talks with US
We Seek to Solve Problems through Rational Procedures; Not Taking Pictures
Without End of Sanctions and Hostile Relations, There Won’t Be Evolution in US-Iran Relations
Sazandegi (centrist newspaper) on August 28
Iran President’s Offer to West: First Lift Sanctions, Then a Photo
Return to Diplomacy: Trump Backs Off Under Influence of Macron, Iran’s Resistance
Shargh (reformist newspaper) on August 28
Storm Against the Government: The Principlists attack Rouhani over his remarks about negotiations
Rouhani’s Condition for Meeting Trump
Zarif: I Can’t Resolve Trump’s Problem with Obama
Reza H. Akbari provided the translation. He is a doctoral candidate at American University and a program manager at the Institute for War & Peace Reporting. Follow him @rezahakbari.