The United States and Iran have recently entered into rare, high-stakes diplomatic negotiations. Two rounds of discussions, held in Muscat and Rome with Oman mediating, have already taken place, and a third technical meeting is expected soon.
The breakdown started during Donald Trump’s presidency when he unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement, which had effectively restrained Iran’s nuclear advancements. Since the U.S. withdrawal, Iran has accelerated its nuclear activities. Although Iran has not officially decided to develop a nuclear weapon, most intelligence assessments agree that it could achieve nuclear capability within a matter of weeks if it chose to.
Meanwhile, Iran’s regional clout has weakened due to factors such as Israel’s military actions against its allies and regional shifts, including the potential collapse of the Assad regime in Syria. Israel continues to lobby for military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, but reports suggest that President Trump has, at least for now, rejected those plans.
Trump’s strategy appears to blend diplomacy with intimidation. While he expresses a desire for a new agreement, he also warns of severe military consequences if negotiations fail. This is backed by tangible actions: intensified airstrikes against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi forces, an increased U.S. military footprint in West Asia, and the strategic deployment of B-2 bombers to the Indian Ocean region—all signalling that American threats are not to be taken lightly.
However, any military confrontation with Iran would have devastating consequences for both regional stability and the global economy. Iran’s nuclear infrastructure is widely dispersed and deeply fortified underground, making any military operation both risky and unlikely to fully succeed. This is precisely why, in 2015, world powers chose diplomacy over military conflict, a path that Trump unfortunately abandoned in 2018 without a compelling justification.
Despite ongoing challenges and regional tensions, the recent initiation of talks offers a rare chance to settle the nuclear issue peacefully. For diplomacy to work, the U.S. must behave like a responsible global leader, focused on preventing Iran from weaponizing its nuclear programme, rather than appearing as a partisan actor aligned with Israeli interests.
On the other side, Iran has indicated a willingness to scale back its nuclear advancements if there is relief from international sanctions and threats. The 2015 nuclear deal, which effectively capped Iran’s uranium enrichment and limited its stockpiles, provides an ideal starting point for future agreements—if both sides approach the negotiations with seriousness and commitment.
Author: This news is edited by: Abhishek Verma, (Editor, CANON TIMES)
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