Former Iranian lawmaker sees good prospect in talks

“Teachers across the country will not allow schools to be turned into military barracks,” reads a statement by the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations, which condemned the move on Monday.

The pact, signed between police chief Ahmadreza Radan and Education Minister Alireza Kazemi, grants security forces a role in shaping school policies in the name of cultural guidance.

“This is a degrading and alarming stance,” said Mohammad Habibi, the council’s spokesperson. He criticized the minister for calling himself a soldier of police and accused him of surrendering civilian education to military influence.

“The education ministry is not the minister’s private estate or a parade ground for security forces,” Habibi said.

Teachers and rights groups say the agreement violates students’ rights and threatens the safety of schools. “Any intrusion of police into the secure space of schools is blatantly illegal, repressive, and a violation of both student and teacher rights,” Habibi added.

Kazemi defended the agreement in a televised ceremony, calling hijab “one of today’s challenges that requires cultural efforts.”

Radan, who is under US, EU, and Canadian sanctions for human rights abuses, said cooperation between police and schools must go further.

"While this memorandum of understanding and the militarization and policing of schools is very painful and aims to exert pressure on our teenagers, it also reflects a kind of acknowledgment of the regime's failure in enforcing compulsory hijab," Roghayeh Rezaei, a member of the IranWire website editorial team said in an interview with Iran International.

The Council’s warning follows mounting pressure on students and teachers since the 2022 protests that were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in morality police custody. The young woman was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly.

In recent months, pro-government outlets such as Tasnim News have called for surveillance cameras in classrooms and tighter controls on student behavior.

“Schools are no place for batons or coercive forces. Don't entrust cultural matters to colonels. The consequences will come back to haunt you,” Morteza Beheshti Langroudi, a teacher and former political prisoner wrote on X.

The Iranian government said in January that the implementation of the controversial hijab law has been postponed due to the potential unrest it may spark.

The law was due to impose harsh penalties on women and girls who defy veiling requirements, including fines, prison terms, flogging and even the death penalty.

Many women now refuse to wear the compulsory head covering, long tunics, and trousers as dictated by the country's Shariah law. They are also now often seen singing and dancing in public in defiance of the religious establishment.

A military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, whether by Israel or the United States, would carry severe risks and could destabilize the region, former senior US diplomat Alan Eyre said in an interview with Bloomberg.

“That seems to be a real possibility,” said Eyre when asked about the likelihood of a military action against Iran if no agreement is reached between Tehran and Washington.

He warned such an attack could set off a chain of destabilizing developments. “A strike by whomever on Iran’s nuclear facilities would possibly solve the problem temporarily,” Eyre said. “But in the Middle East, when you roll the dice on military action, the dice are usually loaded toward bad consequences.”

He added that if Iran were attacked, it would likely withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty and expel international inspectors. “We’d be blind on Iran’s nuclear program,” he said, adding the potential for retaliation as another major risk.

Iran's financial markets reacted with a mix of caution and optimism in the wake of the latest round of nuclear talks with the US in Rome, a stark contrast to the dramatic response witnessed after the first round of negotiations in Muscat.

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Both Tehran and Washington described Saturday's Rome talks as constructive, agreeing to resume technical-level discussions in Oman, a key mediator between the two sides, starting Wednesday, ahead of a planned high-level meeting in Muscat next week.

Speaking on Sunday, Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the ongoing indirect negotiations had been positive. Referring to the crippling sanctions that have paralyzed Iran’s economy, she said that Tehran would welcome any practical initiative aimed at their removal.

Rial strengthens, gold retreats

Amid growing anticipation of a potential breakthrough, the Iranian rial appreciated modestly on Monday, trading at around 830,000 per US dollar on the open market. This follows a rebound from a record low of 1,050,000 in late March and early April, with the rial rising to around 850,000 after the initial talks in Muscat.

However, gold coin prices, a popular hedge against economic uncertainty for Iranian households, fell over the weekend, though the decline was less pronounced compared to the previous week.

Iranian media has reported that unlike the wave of currency selling seen after the Muscat talks—when long lines of sellers formed and exchange rates plummeted—Iranians have responded more cautiously this time, adopting a “wait-and-see” approach to selling their dollar bills and gold coins.

Sohrab Ashrafi, a forex and gold market analyst, told Shargh there is a sense of hope, but not enough confidence to trigger a full market reversal.

Stock market rebounds after months of lull

The Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) showed greater enthusiasm, with significant gains on Sunday.

​The main index, TEDPIX, surged past 3 million points on Saturday and closed at 3,077,925 on Sunday— with a 2.16% increase day on day — marking one of its strongest performances in recent months.

​“Continued positive momentum in the talks could sustain this rally,” a commentary in Donya-ye Eghtesad, a leading economic daily, said. “Even in the absence of an immediate agreement, reduced geopolitical tensions alone can buoy market sentiment.”

Public skepticism persists despite market gains

Despite cautious optimism in financial markets, many ordinary Iranians remain skeptical about whether the negotiations will improve their everyday lives.

“There is little hope that prices will fall or living conditions will improve,” said one viewer in a message to Iran International TV. “Even if sanctions are lifted, it will be the children of the elite who benefit, not ordinary people,” he added.

Iran’s economy has been at its worst since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, at least one-third of Iranians now live below the poverty line, and trust in the government is at an all-time low, as was seen in the record low voter turnout to elections last year.

Some other viewers voiced broader discontent with the political system, saying the nuclear talks are more about preserving the government’s grip on power than delivering economic relief.

One citizen said: “The Islamic Republic has ruined the economy. Prices are high, imports are of poor quality, and corruption is rampant,” adding that real change would only come if the Islamic Republic was overthrown.

“The essential demand of Iran is the removal of unjust sanctions,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday during a weekly briefing. “These restrictions, imposed under the pretext of the nuclear file, have no legal foundation.”

He added that Iran remains willing to engage with concerns over its nuclear program as it has “for the past three decades.”

In November, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said, “The official stance of Iran in rejecting weapons of mass destruction and regarding the peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear program is clear".

Earlier this year, the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran had enriched uranium to near weapons grade. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported major gaps in the agency's understanding of Tehran's nuclear inventory since 2023 when Tehran banned dozens of inspectors and removed cameras in key sites.

Muscat to host next round of expert talks

Baghaei confirmed that the next expert-level meeting between Iran and the United States would be held in Oman, a key mediator in the talks, along with Italy.

Tehran says the negotiations are taking place without direct contact between Iranian and American negotiators. Efforts to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have faltered since the collapse of the 2015 deal following the US withdrawal in 2018 under the first administration of President Donald Trump.

According to Baghaei, the forthcoming technical talks will focus on the details of the framework that might underpin any future agreement.

“We are serious and swift, but a deal depends on the will of the counterpart. Constant references to the snapback mechanism are not constructive,” he said, referring to threats from European states to reimpose UN sanctions under the nuclear accord’s dispute resolution clause.

Beijing and Moscow remain ‘key interlocutors’

Iran's foreign minister is set to travel to China for consultations, Baghaei said, adding that Beijing and Moscow remain crucial interlocutors due to their roles in the UN Security Council and the 2015 nuclear deal.

“We have always been in contact with the European troika as well,” he said, referring to Britain, France, and Germany. These countries, alongside Russia and China, were original signatories of the JCPOA and remain engaged in efforts to salvage the deal.

Baghaei added that all such talks remain rooted in the framework of the nuclear agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the JCPOA in 2015.

Tehran rejects pressure, denies Rome meeting with IAEA

Baghaei also rejected the idea that Iran would yield under pressure. “We do not change our positions under threats. We respond to goodwill with goodwill and know how to counter intimidation,” he said.

Iran has repeatedly warned it will not bow to coercive diplomacy, including military threats or economic isolation, a stance hardened by years of Western sanctions and regional conflict.

US President Donald Trump has warned of bombing Iran if Tehran fails to reach a deal over its nuclear program.

"If they don't make a deal, there will be bombing — and it will be bombing the likes of which they have never seen before," Trump said.

Baghaei also denied speculation about back-channel talks in Italy between Iran’s deputy foreign minister and the International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi.

“There were no meetings or discussions with Mr. Grossi in Rome,” he said. “He traveled there on his own initiative. We had already spoken with him in Tehran before the Rome talks, and saw no need for further discussions.”