The Iranian president believes that negotiating with the United States is “useless” amid the ongoing war in the Middle East

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that negotiating with the United States is “useless,” as the war in the Middle East continues for the eighth month without any horizon for a settlement, despite diplomatic efforts made by several parties.

Pezeshkian said: “Our problem with the United States is that every time we come to the negotiating table, war is immediately imposed on us. So far, they have attacked us three times after the discussions, and this shows that they are not seeking dialogue. On the contrary, their goal is to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

He added during his meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, according to what was reported by the official “IRNA” agency: “With an enemy that resorts every day to assassination, sanctions, pressure and threats, and reneges on its promises, negotiations become useless, and our nation will not accept this approach.”

The war in the Middle East broke out with a US-Israeli attack on Iran in February, while Tehran and Washington were conducting negotiations regarding the Iranian nuclear program.

The two parties concluded a memorandum of understanding in June, mediated by Pakistan, before it collapsed in July with the resumption of Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and the United States responded with military strikes on the Islamic Republic.

Since then, the negotiations have become deadlocked, and discussions between the two parties and the mediators on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in September did not lead to a breakthrough.

The United States has not launched any strike on Iran since September 1, but it has intensified its economic pressure and tightened the sanctions imposed on Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that “there is no military solution, and there is no solution based on new sanctions.”

The Strait of Hormuz has become the most prominent sticking point between Iran and the United States. Tehran has practically closed it since the outbreak of the war, which contributed to the rise in global oil prices. It adheres to supervising navigation traffic in the future, while the United States and several parties refuse to do so.

In return, the United States imposes a blockade on Iranian ports, and prevents Tehran from exporting oil, which constitutes a major source of its revenues.

A tanker was attacked while trying to cross the corridor, on Sunday, while another tanker turned back on Monday after receiving a warning from Iranian forces, according to what the British Maritime Trade Operations Authority (UKMTO) reported.

In a new escalation of security pressures in Iran, the authorities carried out death sentences against two men convicted of involvement in the killing of four police officers during anti-government protests at the beginning of the year, coinciding with a senior Iranian official’s announcement that the authorities were able for the first time to disrupt the “Starlink” satellite Internet service, which protesters used to circumvent restrictions imposed on the Internet.

The two steps reflect the authorities tightening their security and digital grip after widespread protests that broke out against the backdrop of deteriorating living conditions, and turned into one of the largest waves of protest against the government in recent years.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority also reported that two oil and gas tankers were subjected to two separate attacks with projectiles of unknown origin within the strategic waterway on two consecutive days.

Executions in connection with the protests

The Iranian judiciary announced, on Monday, the execution of the death sentence against Ali Reza Sebahi and Ali Reza Raisi by hanging, after convicting them of involvement in the killing of four police officers during the protests that took place in the city of Isfahan in the center of the country. The judiciary's Mizan Online website said that the sentence was implemented after it was approved by the Supreme Court, noting that the two men were also convicted on charges of "belonging to an armed group and undermining national security." The website did not specify the date of their arrest or the details of their trial.

The protests began in Tehran in late December against the backdrop of rising costs of living, before spreading to several regions of the country and turning into a widespread anti-government movement, which reached its peak on January 8 and 9. The Iranian authorities said that about three thousand people were killed during the protests and riots that accompanied them, and attributed the unrest to what they described as “terrorist operations” orchestrated by the United States and Israel. But non-governmental organizations based outside Iran provided a higher toll of victims, and accused the authorities of carrying out a massive crackdown on protesters.

The execution of the two men came days after Tehran announced the execution of another man who was convicted, among other charges, of shooting police officers during protests. These executions come at a time when the pace of executions in Iran has increased since the outbreak of the American-Israeli war on the country in February.

According to the organizations “Iran Human Rights Watch” and “Together Against the Death Penalty,” Iran carried out death sentences against at least 1,639 people in 2025, the highest annual number since 1989. Amnesty International says that Iran carries out more death sentences than any other country except China.

Tehran announces the disabling of “Starlink”

In parallel with the security tightening, the Iranian authorities announced for the first time their ability to disable Starlink devices, which provide Internet connection via satellite, during the protests that the country witnessed in January. Mohammad Amin Aqamiri, head of the government's National Center for Cyberspace, which supervises the Internet, told state television that Iran was able for the first time to disable Starlink devices during the unrest, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse.

Aqamiri did not reveal the technical means that the authorities used to disrupt the service, but experts had indicated during the protests that Iran had succeeded in disrupting the service, which limited its effectiveness in circumventing the Internet blockade.

The authorities had almost completely cut off internet access for weeks during the January protests, limiting residents' ability to disseminate photos and information related to the protests and security measures taken to suppress them. Starlink has become one of the alternatives available to Iranians to bypass the blocking, even though the possession of its devices is prohibited in Iran, and the penalty for doing so amounts to imprisonment.

Conflict within the government regarding the Internet

However, the announcement of the ability to disable “Starlink” seemed to contradict statements issued a few days ago by an official in the Iranian Ministry of Communications. Mohamed Hafez Hakmi, Assistant Minister of Communications for Technology Affairs, said that the spread of “Starlink” could represent a severe blow to the government’s control of the Internet.

The Digiato website, which specializes in technology, quoted him as saying that if the spread of the service continues in this direction, the authorities may be forced to cut off electricity during the next crisis to prevent Iranians from using “Starlink,” in statements that, according to observers, reflected the difficulties faced by the authorities in containing this technology.

For years, Iran has imposed strict restrictions on access to a large number of foreign websites and platforms, including YouTube, X, Telegram, and Instagram. However, most Iranians access these platforms using virtual private networks (VPNs), something the authorities themselves acknowledge.

One of the most restrictive Internet environments

Internet restrictions in Iran remain among the strictest in the world, while this year the country witnessed record outages in Internet service. Following the outbreak of war with Israel and the United States at the end of February, the authorities cut off most forms of access to the Internet for about three months, which led to the country being digitally isolated from the outside world during a large part of the war period.

Difficulties in accessing the Internet are not limited to the blockade imposed by the Iranian authorities; International sanctions make a large number of foreign websites completely unavailable to users inside the country.

An official in the Iranian Ministry of Communications estimated last May that about 30 percent of foreign websites could not be accessed from within Iran due to sanctions. Thus, the security crackdown coincides with tightening control over the digital sphere, in an attempt by the authorities to limit the ability of protesters to communicate, organize protests, and transfer what is happening inside the country abroad, while the “Starlink” case reveals an increasing race between Iranian censorship tools and the technologies that allow them to be bypassed.