Iran-US Negotiation Deadlock, a Threat to Diplomatic Path
The United States rejected Iran’s request to move negotiations from Istanbul to Oman and to limit the agenda to the nuclear program.
In the latest twist of the diplomatic crisis between Tehran and Washington, disagreement over the venue and format of the scheduled negotiations for Friday has reached a deadlock and could block the path of diplomacy. These developments occur as both sides have adopted harder stances regarding their priorities and disagree over the presence of regional countries in the negotiations.
According to reports, the United States announced earlier today, Wednesday, February 4th, corresponding to Bahman 15th, that it will not agree with Tehran’s request to change the venue and format of negotiations. The main issue in this disagreement was the relocation of talks from Istanbul to Oman and conducting negotiations bilaterally, a proposal that Tehran presented to prioritize only the nuclear program and avoid discussion of other issues such as the missile program.
A senior American official stated frankly: “We told them it’s either this format or nothing; they responded: well, then nothing.” This statement demonstrates the severity of the deadlock, even strengthening the possibility of canceling the negotiations.
Washington officials have emphasized that if Iran returns to the previous format and location of talks in Istanbul, the United States is prepared to continue negotiations this week or next week. This official also warned: “We want to reach a real agreement very quickly, otherwise people will turn to other options.” This statement implicitly refers to repeated threats by the US President regarding military options in case of diplomatic failure.
On the other hand, Iranian officials have also adopted firm positions. One Iranian source told news agencies: “From Tehran’s perspective, negotiations with America will only be about the nuclear program, and the Islamic Republic is not willing to discuss other issues.”
The United States now believes that negotiations with Iran should extend beyond the nuclear issue, including the missile program, support for regional groups, and human rights issues. The US Secretary of State has emphasized that without addressing these issues, reaching a “real agreement” will be difficult.
In contrast, Tehran insists on focusing solely on the nuclear program and says it has no intention of raising issues such as the missile program in the current negotiations.
As these differences increase, the outlook for diplomatic efforts has grown darker. Some reports indicate that talks may take place in Muscat instead of Istanbul, but even this change lacks explicit agreement between the two parties.
Currently, senior American representatives such as Steve Wittkoff, Special Envoy of the White House, and Jared Kushner, advisor to the US President, are scheduled to travel to Doha, Qatar to discuss Iran with the Prime Minister of Qatar, without any plans for formal meetings with Iranian officials.
Thus, despite extensive regional efforts to prevent escalation of the crisis, disagreements over the nature and venue of negotiations have increased the likelihood of a complete halt to talks and intensified concerns about returning to harsher options such as military action.
