Why Iran wants nuclear talks in Oman and what it reveals about Tehran’s negotiating strategy

The United States and Iran are set to hold nuclear talks in Oman on Friday after Tehran requested a change of venue and a strictly bilateral, nuclear-focused format, a move that is fuelling questions about Iran’s negotiating strategy.

Speaking to AnewZ, political analyst Ana Evans in Lisbon said Iran’s decision to move the talks to Oman reflects a deliberate attempt to return to a narrowly defined, technical negotiating model centred solely on the nuclear file.

“There were talks a decade ago about the nuclear development of Iran, and these were technical talks that were really confined to that topic,” Evans said. “Iran sees having the new talks in Oman as a continuation of those earlier, technically focused negotiations.”

Evans explained that Tehran is seeking to prevent the talks from expanding into a wider regional or geopolitical discussion.

“Whereas the U.S. was trying to bring other issues to the table, namely problems of support to proxies in the Middle East and issues of maritime security, Iran is trying to confine the talks to a very technical single-subject format,” she said.

According to Evans, holding the talks in Oman rather than in a broader multilateral setting serves that purpose.

“What Iran is trying here is to reduce these talks to bilateral talks and to reduce the content of the talks to just one subject - nuclear development - rather than making them a geopolitical regional issue where Arab states could align with the U.S. and bring their own goals to the table,” she said.

Why Tehran wants strictly bilateral talks

Evans said Iran believes that limiting the number of participants reduces the risk of coordinated pressure against it.

“The more actors you have in the room, the more coalition-making and united fronts can be established,” she said. “For Iran, it is not of interest at this point to have a regional alignment of Gulf states and it is not of interest to have a regional alignment of European states such as the UK, France and Germany, because that would mean extra leverage for the U.S.”

She added that Tehran also views the current military environment as unfavourable.

“The U.S. has been stationing naval forces in the region of the Arab Gulf and this means the U.S. is getting ready militarily to advance and strike if it considers that to be in its national interest and in the interest of its allies,” Evans said.

Because of this, Iran prefers a negotiating format that minimises external pressure.

“Having fewer U.S. allies sitting at the table means having less leverage and less pressure on the Iranian side,” she said.

Russia factor and Iran’s bargaining position

Evans said Iran is also factoring in the wider geopolitical landscape, particularly its relationship with Moscow.

“One very important aspect here is that Iran is able to use the Russia-Ukraine conflict as bait in negotiations,” she said. “It is convenient for Iran to be strategically aligned with Russia at this stage and, again, not have so many actors sitting at the table that would strengthen the U.S. position vis-à-vis Russian and Iranian interests.”

Taken together, Evans said Tehran’s push for Oman and for bilateral talks reflects a clear calculation: narrow the agenda, narrow the format and negotiate in an environment where Iran believes it can better manage pressure and protect its core interests.

Whether that strategy will translate into tangible progress remains uncertain but the structure of the talks alone highlights how far apart Washington and Tehran remain on the scope and purpose of any potential agreement.

Tags

News Politics Iran U.S. oman talks nuclear talks