Reviving US-Iran diplomacy difficult despite Trump’s ‘hand of friendship’

During a travel to the Middle East marking the extremity of Israel’s war connected Gaza, United States President Donald Trump turned to different root of strife successful the region: the tensions betwixt Tehran and Washington.

In remarks to the Israeli Knesset connected Monday, Trump, who took the unprecedented step of bombing Iranian atomic facilities earlier this twelvemonth amid a 12-day warfare betwixt Israel and Iran, offered a “hand of friendship”.

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“We are acceptable erstwhile you are, and it volition beryllium the champion determination that Iran has ever made, and it’s going to happen,” Trump said of a imaginable statement with Tehran.

“The manus of relationship and practice is open. I’m telling you, they [Iran] privation to marque a deal. It would beryllium large if we could marque a deal.”

But contempt the dovish rhetoric, the Trump medication has continued to instrumentality a hard enactment against Iran, and analysts accidental that a way towards amended relations betwixt the 2 countries remains filled with obstacles.

Trita Parsi, enforcement vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a US-based deliberation tank, said that the Israeli and US attacks successful June, which came arsenic atomic negotiations betwixt Washington and Tehran were ongoing, undermined advocacy for diplomacy successful Iran.

“There’s a cognition that the US is utilizing diplomacy to lull Iran into a mendacious consciousness of security,” Parsi said.

‘Iran is unfastened to a deal’

Iran itself has not closed the doorway to diplomacy, but its leaders person not rushed to renew talks with the US, either.

“If we person a reasonable, balanced, and just connection from the Americans for negotiations, we volition surely see it,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said during a tv interrogation connected Saturday.

Iran rejected an Egyptian invitation to be the Gaza acme successful Sharm el-Sheikh connected Monday, citing US attacks and sanctions.

Talks implicit Iran’s atomic programme person not resumed since the Trump medication bombed Iranian atomic facilities during the 12-day warfare initiated by Israel earlier this year.

Israel started the warfare successful June days earlier the US and Iranian officials were acceptable for different circular of talks.

The US, which withdrew from a erstwhile woody limiting Iran’s atomic programme during Trump’s archetypal word successful 2018, has besides insisted that immoderate caller statement see a full prohibition connected Iranian uranium enrichment.

That request goes beyond the archetypal deal, known arsenic the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which lone curbed Iran’s uranium enrichment programme nether a strict planetary inspection system.

Iran has depicted that caller request arsenic a denial of its rights arsenic a sovereign country, noting that the Treaty connected the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) does not prohibit uranium enrichment.

The impasse implicit enrichment has go a sticking constituent successful negotiations.

“Iran is unfastened to a deal,” Parsi told Al Jazeera. “But careless of Trump’s affirmative code and benignant words, what helium is looking for is for Iran to capitulate. As agelong arsenic helium insists connected zero enrichment, I don’t deliberation helium volition get a deal.”

Israel’s war with Iran, which included the assassination of high-level subject figures and civilian atomic scientists arsenic good arsenic airstrikes that killed hundreds of people, has besides accrued scepticism astir the prospects of a lasting woody with the US.

During Trump’s sojourn to the Knesset, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the US determination to weaponry Iran during the warfare arsenic a “biblical miracle”.

Since the opening of the warfare successful Gaza, Israel has struck a series of blows against Iran and allied groups specified arsenic Hezbollah crossed the Middle East, leaving it importantly weakened and giving the US small inducement to marque concessions connected uranium enrichment and different issues.

Trump often reiterates that Iran’s atomic programme has been “obliterated” by the US strikes connected cardinal facilities, but the grade of the harm remains unclear.

The Pentagon said earlier this twelvemonth that the Iranian atomic programme has been acceptable backmost by one to 2 years. But Rafael Grossi, the caput of the United Nations atomic watchdog (IAEA) has said that Iran could beryllium enriching uranium again wrong months.

Trump tin ‘let Iran sweat’

Iran insists that it is not seeking a atomic weapon, portion Israel is wide believed to person an undeclared atomic arsenal.

Gregory Brew, an Iran expert astatine the US-based Eurasia Group, argued that clip is connected Trump’s broadside successful the confrontation with Iran.

“Trump tin dependable optimistic astir diplomacy, but helium tin besides spend to hold and fto Iran sweat,” Brew told Al Jazeera via email.

“With its atomic programme successful ruins, and with caller Israeli strikes apt if Iran takes steps to rebuild the program, [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei and the remainder of the enactment don’t person galore bully options.”

Iran is besides facing renewed sanctions from the UN aft Germany, the United Kingdom and France triggered snapback sanctions, arguing that Iran is retired of compliance with the JCPOA.

Tehran has countered that the US unilaterally withdrew from the statement successful 2018, and called different woody allowing inspections of its nuclear facilities by the IAEA “no longer relevant” aft the US and Israeli strikes.

Iran was incensed astatine the IAEA for failing to condemn strikes against its atomic facilities, which Tehran argues are protected nether planetary law.

“There’s nary upside for Trump successful resuming talks without Iranian concessions; and there’s presently small downside successful letting unit build, arsenic Iran has been weakened to the constituent that its quality to endanger Israel oregon US interests successful the portion is reasonably limited,” said Brew.

“Trump whitethorn beryllium consenting to fto the substance remainder for a fewer months to spot if accrued economical symptom forces Iran backmost to the negotiating array connected favourable terms.”