As preparations for renewed nuclear negotiations get underway, significant gaps remain between the United States and Iran. Despite international efforts to bring both sides back to the negotiating table, fundamental disagreements persist over key issues such as sanctions relief, uranium enrichment, and compliance timelines.
Diplomats from both countries have expressed a willingness to engage, but neither side has signaled major compromises. The United States continues to insist on full Iranian compliance with the terms of the original 2015 nuclear deal before lifting sanctions, while Iran demands that sanctions be lifted before it rolls back its nuclear advancements.
These tensions highlight the challenges facing negotiators as they attempt to revive the agreement and prevent further escalation in the region. With each side holding firm to its stance, the upcoming talks are expected to be complex and delicate.
Since returning to office, Donald Trump has wasted no time in asserting his agenda on the global stage. In just a few months, he has made bold, though largely unsuccessful, moves to resolve the crises in Gaza and Ukraine. He’s ordered strikes in Yemen, launched a sweeping trade war, and now, he’s shifting focus to a long-standing target: Iran.
Iran has been a lingering issue for Trump since his first term. His central concern remains unchanged — preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Though Iran insists it has no intention of building a nuclear bomb, many nations suspect it aims to develop at least the capability to produce one. Such ambitions, they fear, could ignite a regional arms race or even a broader conflict in the Middle East.
Back in 2015, Iran struck a deal with six world powers — the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia, and China — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Under the agreement, Iran curbed its nuclear program and allowed international inspections in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
But in 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the deal, arguing it fueled terrorism by funding Iran-backed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. He reinstated tough sanctions on Iran.
In response, Iran gradually abandoned parts of the agreement and increased its uranium enrichment.
Now, experts warn that Iran may be approaching the threshold of having enough highly enriched uranium to produce a nuclear weapon. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates that Iran’s current stockpile of 60% enriched uranium could yield enough material for around six bombs if refined further.
Soon after reentering office, Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” strategy. On February 4, he signed a memorandum directing the US Treasury to enforce stricter sanctions and penalize countries that continue to import Iranian oil.
Alongside this economic pressure, Trump is now turning to diplomacy. Last month, he sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, proposing direct negotiations and aiming for a new agreement within a few months.
This weekend, US and Iranian officials are expected to meet in Oman for the first round of talks.
But the message from Washington is clear: reach a deal or face the consequences.
“If the talks aren’t successful with Iran, I think Iran is going to be in great danger,” Trump warned on Monday.
