Over two days this weekend, be it Saturday and Sunday, or Sunday and Monday, American and Iranian negotiating teams will once again descend on Muscat for the fourth round of nuclear talks between the nations.
The talks, which were originally scheduled for earlier this month, were postponed due to what the Omanis termed “logistical reasons.”
However, the gap in talks has allowed the Houthis, the Iranian proxy army in Yemen, to escalate their attacks on Israel and even strike close to Ben-Gurion Airport on Sunday.
The Iranians have been angry about perceived changes in the White House’s approach to the talks. The US has appeared to harden its stance, demanding Iran’s nuclear program be dismantled completely.
Western countries say Iran’s nuclear program is geared towards producing weapons, whereas Iran insists it is purely for civilian purposes.
US President Donald Trump, who withdrew the US from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, has threatened to bomb Iran if no agreement is reached with his administration to resolve the long-standing dispute.
“This is a very important time for Iran,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday.
“They can’t have a nuclear weapon, and if they choose to go a different route, it’s going to be a very sad thing, and it’s something we don’t want to have to do, but we have no choice,” he said.
Trump has a habit sometimes of overstating the US’s capabilities – remember “all hell will break loose”?This time, the US needs to stand strong and support its regional ally, Israel.
There are already whispers of discontent among the Israeli establishment that the Americans’ deal with the Houthis does not include halting their attacks on Israel.
US must remain firm and tough
America has to remain firm and tough in its dealings with the Iranians.
The United States has a marvelous habit of unwittingly aiding people who despise its very existence, all as part of the great game of global geopolitics. It has never been shy about making deals with devils when the strategic stakes are high.
In the 1980s, the US threw its support behind Saddam Hussein as he waged a brutal war against Iran, turning a blind eye to his use of chemical weapons, only to facilitate his removal from power two decades later.
At the same time, Washington was funneling weapons to the Afghan mujahideen in their fight against the Soviets, only to see some of those fighters later morph into al-Qaeda.
And in a less-remembered but equally stark example, the Americans quietly backed remnants of the Khmer Rouge because Vietnam, backed by Moscow, had become the new common enemy.
In this case, however, the threat is right there, staring the US in the face as it has been since 1979. For 45 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has waged an ideological battle against the country it determines is “The Great Satan” and all those who side with America.
This is the country that held over 50 Americans hostage inside Tehran for 444 days.
This is the country that attacked Israel with hundreds of missiles and rockets twice last year.
This is the country that denies that the Holocaust took place.
This is the country that has seen seven of its citizens, with allegedly close ties to the regime, arrested in London this week for plotting terror attacks against the UK.
This is the country that bombs Jewish centers halfway across the world simply to kill Jews.
This is the country that has siphoned billions of its oil wealth from the people to support terror groups across the Middle East.
This is the country that has supported Hamas for years. The same Hamas that on October 7, 2023, carried out the worst atrocity against Jews since the Holocaust.
As the US sits across the table from the Iranians, it should remember who is responsible for the instability in the Middle East, and which regime helped Hamas to murder 46 Americans on October 7, taking seven US citizens hostage.
This is not just “a very important time for Iran,” as the president states. On these talks could rest the future of peace in the region, and the diminishing of Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
It’s a very important time for us all, and the US should remember that when it’s making its deals.
