Atwan's Assessment of the Iran-US Talks

A senior analyst of regional issues explained the factors behind the incident, stating that the American negotiator was in a position of weakness and defeat in the Muscat talks.

News ID: 85995

Date: 13 April 2025 - 14:26

TEHRAN (Defapress) - According to Rai Al-Youm, Abdel Bari Atwan, a strategic affairs analyst for the region, stated in an article referencing yesterday's indirect negotiations between Iran and the U.S. in Muscat:

Iran succeeded in scoring a crucial goal against the U.S. in the battle of wills held in Muscat, the capital of Oman, and firmly established its insistence on keeping the talks indirect. Meanwhile, the American side sought direct negotiations.

According to Atwan, Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s advisor and the senior American negotiator in these talks, was in a position of weakness and defeat, especially after the failure of the U.S. project to impose customs tariffs on over 200 countries and regimes worldwide. This move turned America's own allies, particularly in Europe and East Asia (such as South Korea and Japan), into enemies.

Iran’s representative in these negotiations was Abbas Araghchi, the country’s seasoned foreign minister, who also led the 2015 nuclear talks with six world powers and possesses extensive experience in negotiation tactics and strategies. As a result, the Iranians did not yield to Trump’s policy of threats and intimidation. Instead, they fully imposed their conditions on the American side, keeping the discussions strictly focused on the nuclear dossier and avoiding other topics such as drones, missiles, and the internal affairs of the Axis of Resistance.

Atwan adds: When the Iranians placed their missile launch platforms, advanced destroyers, and naval forces on high alert—threatening to attack U.S. military bases around their country and raising other threats, including closing the Strait of Hormuz and halting Gulf oil exports to the world, Trump proposed a return to diplomatic solutions to resolve the crisis between Iran and the U.S.

He further notes: The Iranian side has no trust in Donald Trump, who tore up the nuclear deal in 2018, and is well aware that he is a tool in the hands of the Zionist enemy.

Atwan concludes his article by emphasizing that in the early months of Trump’s administration, the U.S. became a laughingstock to the entire world, and we would not be surprised if Iran and its allies emerge as the biggest winners of this situation.