Five figures from the Reformers' Front coalition have been arrested since Sunday in Iran, where the authorities have suppressed the protest. At the same time, discussions with the United States must continue.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 04:41 Modified on: 02/10/2026 - 14:41

New arrest in the reformist camp and conviction of Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Peace Prize winner: Iran is intensifying repression inside the country, while maintaining the diplomatic channel open with the United States.

Despite the resumption of talks on Friday in Oman, the tone remains firm and the "deep distrust" towards the United States, warned the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi. However, in telephone conversations with his counterparts in Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, he said the talks were "a good start", according to state television.

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Facing one of his greatest challenges, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on his compatriots to demonstrate "resilience" on this week's anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. "The power of a nation lies not so much in its missiles and planes as in the will and resilience of its people," the leader stressed, adding: "Show it again and thwart the plans of the enemy."

He delivered this message of firmness at a time when those in power are increasing pressure on critical voices. Five figures from the Reformers' Front coalition have been arrested since Sunday, including its leader Azar Mansouri, its spokesperson Javad Emam and former MP Ali Shakouri Rad, according to Iranian media.

The protest movement stifled

The reform camp had largely supported President Massoud Pezeshkian during the 2024 presidential campaign. But it distanced itself from the latter after the demonstrations which broke out at the end of December against the economic slump and gained momentum on January 8 and 9.

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Hossein Karoubi, the son of opponent Mehdi Karoubi, was also arrested on Monday after being summoned by the prosecution, according to his lawyer Mohammad Jalilian, cited by the Fars agency. His father himself spent years under house arrest before being released last year.

The protest movement was bloodily suppressed by the authorities. The US-based NGO Human Rights Activists News Agency (Hrana) confirmed 6,964 deaths, mostly protesters, and recorded 51,790 arrests.

Another target of the government, Narges Mohammadi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, was sentenced to prison on Saturday, according to her lawyer. Imprisoned several times over the last 25 years for her commitment against the death penalty and the strict dress code for women in Iran, she was this time convicted of “assembly and collusion to commit crimes” and “propaganda activities”, in two separate cases.

Iran has “once again chosen repression and intimidation”, deplored the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

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Iran only agrees to discuss its nuclear program

In January, US President Donald Trump increased threats of military intervention in Iran in the face of repression of rallies. But the subject appears to have been avoided during the talks held in Oman, the first since the 12-day war launched in June by Israel. Iran only agrees to discuss its nuclear program, hammering home its right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, while Western countries and Israel accuse it of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons.

Responding to a question "on the possibility of diluting" its stock of uranium enriched to 60%, close to the 90% threshold needed to make the bomb, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami declared that "this depended on the lifting of all sanctions in return", reported the official Irna agency.

Before the Israeli-American strikes on its nuclear sites in June, Iran was enriching uranium to 60%, well beyond the 3.67% authorized by the nuclear agreement concluded with the great powers in 2015, which became obsolete following Washington's unilateral withdrawal in 2018.

The United States, which has deployed a large naval force in the Gulf, is demanding a broader agreement, including limiting the country's ballistic capabilities and ending its support for armed groups hostile to Israel.

Despite these differences, Donald Trump welcomed “very good” discussions, which should continue in the coming days. The secretary of Iran's highest security body, Ali Larijani, is expected in Oman on Tuesday to "discuss the latest regional and international developments."

With AFP

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