Iran International
Moderates are pushing for President Masoud Pezeshkian to meet Donald Trump at the United Nations in hopes of easing mounting pressure on Iran, but entrenched hardline opposition makes such a breakthrough highly unlikely.
That pressure is set to intensify with the automatic return of UN sanctions on September 28, unless a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough materializes.
Amid decades of bitter discord following the 1979 Iranian Reovlution, no US President has ever met his Iranian counterpart. US President Barack Obama spoke with President Hassan Rouhani by phone while the latter was in New York in 2013.
Reformists argue the question is not whether Pezeshkian should meet Trump, but whether he can secure Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s mandate to resume the pursuit of a nuclear deal. Without it, they say, the trip risks becoming another empty exercise.
“If the trip is going to be like last year or like those of past presidents, it is better not to go,” former Tehran mayor Gholamhossein Karbaschi told the moderate outlet Jamaran.
“If they want real change, he must first go to the Leader and other decision-makers and secure the necessary powers. Then he can meet senior American, European and regional officials.”
‘Courage required’
The reformist daily Sazandegi ran the headline “A Speech Is Not Enough,” urging Pezeshkian to act decisively.
Prominent centrist figure Hossein Marashi argued in an editorial that only “courageous decisions” could help avoid renewed sanctions.
Other moderates, including Amir Eghtenaei and Mohammad Atrianfar, pressed for clarity from Khamenei before departure, warning that without it the trip would yield “only repetitive words in routine meetings.”
Reformist author Abbas Abdi went further In Tehran’s other moderate daily, Etemad: unless Pezeshkian resolves the matter at home, he argued, the UN visit will be “pure loss.”
“When you return,” Abdi warned, “we should know whether the person who went to the UN was Pezeshkian representing the Iranian nation, or merely a shadow of his rivals wearing his clothes.”
‘Romantic illusion’
The "rivals" have of course been hard at work to head off any grand gestures in New Yorkk.
Kayhan, funded by the Supreme Leader’s office, derided the proposal as a “childish prescription” that would send a message of weakness.
In a biting editorial, it accused reformists of being so servile to the United States they would “probably even kiss Trump’s seat if asked.”
Javan, the IRGC-linked daily, called the idea “banana peels under Pezeshkian’s feet,” reminding readers that Trump himself tore up the 2015 nuclear deal.
Even the more measured Farhikhtegan said Washington has shown “no willingness to talk to Iran,” branding reformist hopes “romantic illusions.”
The past speaks
Analyst Amirali Abolfath told the moderate daily Ham-Mihan that even if Pezeshkian and Trump met, “just as Trump’s meetings with Putin or his letters to Kim Jong-un did not change US policy, this will not either.”
Others warned of humiliation.
President Trump could treat Pezeshkian as he did Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, hardline journalist Pouyan Hosseinpour warned, “reducing the encounter to a moment of spectacle.”
This hardline consensus mirrors earlier UNGA seasons, when moderate presidents Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani likewise floated engagement but bowed to resistance at home.
The likely outcome is the same: no meeting, and a course set for confrontation as snapback sanctions take hold.
“Economic growth requires prerequisites such as a favorable business environment, sound economic governance, access to technology and adequate financing. Each of these can be likened to an engine powering growth. The problem is that none of these engines are running,” wrote the paper, which covers industry, mining and trade.
According to the report, the government’s latest decree estimates Iran would need nearly 80 quadrillion rials (about $80 billion) in combined private, public and cooperative investment in the current Iranian year (started on March 21) to hit the 8% target, factoring in capital depreciation, labor contributions and productivity gains. Current financing plans leave a shortfall of about 27.9 quadrillion rials (about $28 billion).
The report listed funding sources ranging from banks and capital markets to foreign investment, the sovereign wealth fund and private savings. But it warned that reliance on public budgets and banks alone is insufficient.
Economist Vahid Shaghaghi-Shahri told the paper: “At present all our engines of economic growth have not only stalled but are working in reverse. In this context, even preventing negative growth should be considered an achievement.”
He cited housing, oil revenues and productivity as sectors in decline, while financial channels needed to supply about $200 billion annually are blocked by sanctions, low investor confidence and structural weaknesses.
Another economist, Mehdi Pazouki, argued that “without economic health no rational investor will commit to Iran.”
He said previous development programs had all set 8% growth targets that were never achieved. “When energy shortages restrict production and the business climate is hostile, such a goal is at best rhetorical,” he told the paper.
Both experts stressed the need for international engagement and domestic reforms. Pazouki said: “For meaningful growth we must first restore international relations and improve the business environment. Otherwise, capital will continue to flow abroad instead of into domestic industry.”
The report comes amid starkly different official data. Iran’s Central Bank recently announced growth of more than 3% in 2024, comparing Iran favorably to the US and eurozone, while the IMF in May projected growth of just 0.3% this year with inflation topping 43%.
Independent analysts say power shortages, a plunging rial and tighter US sanctions have pushed the economy toward stagnation.
Shaghaghi warned that unless Iran activates its “engines of growth,” negative GDP growth could emerge as early as 2026. “It is better to set realistic goals in line with our economic conditions and avoid rhetorical targets,” he said.
Seventy-one members of parliament signed a letter to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, demanding a “review of the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine,” according to the daily Hamshahri Online.
In their letter, the lawmakers wrote, “We respectfully request that, since the decisions of that council acquire validity with the endorsement of the Leader of the Revolution, this matter be raised without delay and the expert findings communicated to the parliament.”
The lawmakers argued that while the use of nuclear weapons would contradict a 2010 religious edict by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prohibiting them, developing and maintaining such weapons “as a deterrent is another matter,” the outlet said.
“In Shia jurisprudence, a change in circumstances and conditions can alter the ruling. Moreover, safeguarding Islam -- which today is bound to the preservation of the Islamic Republic -- is among the paramount obligations. On this basis, the original prohibition can, as a secondary ruling, be transformed into a permissibility.”
The initiative was led by Hassan-Ali Akhlaghi Amiri, a lawmaker from the holy city of Mashhad, Hamshahri reported.
Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and cites Khamenei’s fatwa against nuclear weapons as proof of its intentions. The United States and its European allies accuse Tehran of seeking the capability to produce nuclear arms, a charge Iran denies.
The calls from lawmakers come as Iran faces the prospect of renewed United Nations sanctions under a “snapback” mechanism set to take effect on September 28, after European powers accused Tehran of failing to honor the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran is not known to have made any decision to pursue nuclear weapons, and the government has not commented on the lawmakers’ letter.
Under Shi'ite law, a man can have four permanent wives simultaneously and any number of temporary wives. He needs his first wife’s consent for additional permanent marriages, but not for temporary ones.
Women, by contrast, can only enter one temporary marriage at a time and, after termination, must wait at least 45 days before remarrying to establish paternity if pregnant.
“I don’t know a single woman around me who would agree to a temporary marriage, unless she is involved with a married man and wants to protect herself from being charged with adultery if discovered,” said Taraneh, an art teacher in Tehran.
“In these cases, it’s more a formality than religiosity. Just like an affair, they hide it from everyone, even their family and friends.”
Taraneh explained that stigma is deeply rooted. The longstanding association between temporary marriage and prostitution, she said, reinforces secrecy and social judgment, especially against women.
“But in some poorer rural areas I’ve visited, it is somehow more common for widowed or divorced women who are unable to financially support themselves to marry temporarily with men whose wives will not allow them to officially take second wives,” she added.
“However, even these are normally longer-term and not publicized. Everyone considers very short-term temporary marriages shameful because of the money involved."
Temporary marriage in Shi'ite Islam
Under Shi'ite Islamic law, temporary marriage, known in Persian as sigheh or mut‘ah, is a marriage contract with a set duration. The term may last from a few hours to several years, depending on the agreement.
The contract is usually verbal and consists of the man and woman (or their representatives) reciting a formula (sigheh) that specifies the agreed duration and a predetermined dowry (mahr). Witnesses are not required for it to be valid.
Since 2013, temporary marriage has been legally recognized in Iran, though registration is only required if a child is conceived.
If registered or witnessed, temporary marriage allows recognition of children and provide some legal security to women. Once the term ends, the marriage automatically dissolves without requiring divorce proceedings.
Children are legally recognized, with inheritance and custody rights, though complications often arise if the marriage is not officially registered.
Unlike permanent marriage, a woman in temporary marriage is not entitled to alimony after expiration and has no right of inheritance from her temporary husband.
Widows and divorced women may enter temporary marriage without paternal consent. Unmarried girls, however, need their father’s approval, as in permanent marriage. The minimum legal age for girls is 13, fueling concern about child marriage in poor areas.
Sunni Islam does not recognize temporary marriage.
Sex trade in disguise
Islamic jurists describe temporary marriage as a legitimate solution to sexual needs and a safeguard against prostitution.
Although prostitution is explicitly criminalized and punishable in Iran, sigheh still enjoys legal backing, and its broad interpretations have created a religious-legal loophole that paves the way for exploitation.
The sex trade often operates under the guise of temporary marriage. This is especially visible in religious cities such as Mashhad and Qom, pilgrimage hubs where millions travel each year.
Since its legal recognition, numerous social media channels have openly advertised temporary marriage, offering arrangements from “one-hour to longer terms,” for fixed fees.
Even clerics who accept the principle of sigheh criticize this trend. They argue that it normalizes polygamy or masks prostitution.
“Can you believe that some ignorant, clueless people have set up [Telegram] channels to promote polygamy and temporary marriage? They claim they are reviving the Prophet’s tradition!" wrote cleric Ehsan Ebadi on X.
"Curse on you—you have understood neither the Prophet, nor Islam, nor the philosophy behind these rulings. All you are doing is tarnishing the image of religious people."
Javan newspaper, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, reported on September 20 that the growth of online channels and pages under the titles of matchmaking and sigheh-finding has turned into a platform for fraud and exploitation of users.
“The rapid increase of these channels is a serious alarm bell for society.”
