If conditions are met

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told European Council President António Costa that Iran has "the necessary resolve to end this war if the required conditions are met, especially the necessary guarantees to prevent a recurrence of aggression". According to Press TV, Pezeshkian criticised the EU for not being vocal enough in its criticism of the war. Markets rose on the comments.

But Araghchi told Al Jazeera the same day that Iran is "not negotiating" with the US, though it has received messages from the Trump administration. Costa's readout made no mention of Pezeshkian's purported comments. Two contradictory signals, issued the same day from Tehran: one for markets and European diplomacy, another for domestic consumption and Washington.

The gap between what Iran says publicly and what it tells intermediaries is, according to the White House, significant. Leavitt said "what Tehran says publicly differs from what it tells US interlocutors". Perhaps. But it is also possible Washington is reading ambiguous signals as openness because it needs an exit narrative. Pezeshkian did not say "we are ready to stop." He said they have "the resolve to stop if conditions are met." The difference fits in a preposition, but it is enormous.