Iran just demanded proof America won't overthrow its government
5 days ago · 26 September 2026Share
Masoud Pezeshkian, the ninth president of Iran, in an interview with khamenei.ir in 2024. khamenei.ir · CC BY 4.0
Iran just raised the price of talking to Donald Trump.
Masoud Pezeshkian is Iran's President. He says Washington has to prove one thing first, before any meeting can even happen.
He told CBS News quote "it does not intend to overthrow our government or our administration".
That's a brand new condition. Before this, the argument was about the Strait of Hormuz. And Iran's nuclear programme. Now there's a third thing on the table. Proof that regime change is off the menu completely.
So why the distrust? Well, Masoud Pezeshkian explained it himself. He talked about someone coming and killing Iran's supreme leader. He asked people to imagine their own reaction to that. He's talking about the war America and Israel started against Iran seven months ago.
But here's the twist. In the same interview, he offered something back.
He said Iran would let UN nuclear inspectors into the country. As part of a long-term ceasefire. Margaret Brennan asked him twice to confirm it. Twice, he said yes. He said if inspectors want in, Iran can agree terms on that inside the wider talks. And he repeated Iran's line again. Building a nuclear weapon is forbidden under Islamic law.
So Iran is holding out inspectors with one hand. And a regime-change demand with the other.
And the timing is not an accident.
Abbas Araghchi is Iran's Foreign Minister. He told journalists two days ago that Iran has sent America a seven-day plan. Through Qatar. Here's what's in it. Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. In return, America eases its military pressure. Lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports. Waives the sanctions on Iranian oil. The plan also wants a wider ceasefire. One that covers Lebanon too.
Abbas Araghchi said the choice now rests with the United States. And that Iran will not give up its sovereign rights, despite the pressure and threats against it.
This plan isn't really new. It's the same fourteen-point memorandum Donald Trump signed with Iran in June. Just squeezed. Sixty days of negotiating time, down to seven.
That June deal already failed once. Washington and Tehran agreed to stop fighting everywhere. Lebanon included. Iran says America broke it anyway, by keeping the naval blockade running. America went back to bombing Iran at scale on the night of 8 July.
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The Golestan Palace in Tehran, Iran. File photo. ZarlokX · CC BY-SA 4.0
So what does Donald Trump say to this new offer? He's already said no.
Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House quote "They made a proposal, but I rejected it". He said Iran wants to open the strait because it's losing so badly. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials, that Donald Trump has told his own aides he expects to start bombing Iran again after November's midterm elections.
But it's not locked in. The same officials say Donald Trump doesn't actually want to restart major combat right now. Nobody knows how big any new strikes would be. And the midterm results could change his mind either way.
America isn't in any rush. The strait is already working in America's favour. Almost 40 million barrels of crude have moved through it under US naval escort in the last two days. That's back to where it was before the war. The US blockade has been running since 14 July. It has redirected 122 commercial ships so far. Two days ago that number was 115.
Oil dropped once Abbas Araghchi's offer went public. Brent crude fell to around $103 a barrel. About 2.5 per cent down on the day before.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are the two Americans behind the June memorandum. They've been meeting Iranian officials this week. On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Not everyone believes Iran means it. Patrick O'Hare, an analyst at Briefing, said the offer looks doubtful. His reasoning? Iran hasn't actually changed its conditions from before. Mike Pompeo, the former US Secretary of State, told Fox News it's likely not a serious proposal. He said Iran's leaders are still threatening Western interests.
Luke Ortega is the US State Department's deputy spokesperson. He says the strait is open right now. He calls America's naval presence there a "steel wall". And he says Donald Trump holds all the cards.
Three days ago, in New York, Masoud Pezeshkian told journalists Iran wants a deal done before the midterms. He said Americans should return to the memorandum before the midterms happen.
So Iran has put two offers on the table at once. Nuclear inspectors. A seven-day route to reopening the strait. And on top of both, a condition that goes further than either one. Proof that Washington isn't trying to remove Iran's government at all.
Donald Trump hasn't said whether he'll answer that condition. Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, has repeated that America will never let Iran have nuclear weapons. And Donald Trump has posted that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
What happens next comes down to a vote seven weeks away. In a country Iran doesn't get a say in.
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