Alwaght- The Iranian-American negotiations ended as the two sides failed to agree on terms of a deal for a permanent ceasefire. These talks were brought to the spotlight by Hamidreza Gholamzadeh, an international affairs expert and head of international affairs of Tehran Municipality. In a piece published by Alwaght, he discussed the war on Iran and the stalemate in Islamabad talks:
In its talks with Iran, the US followed a strategic principle to weaken Iran and it had gone to great lengths to this end. In general, the Americans have underestimated Iran's power and thought that the Iranian people are opposed to the Islamic Republic and people will take to the streets for overthrowing the government upon Israeli-American military action against Tehran. However, this was a miscalculation, leading to a failure. Trump administration even failed to bring to the battleground the separatist Kurdish militias. Actually Iran powerfully dealt blows to these militias as it handled national defense against foreign aggression. Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurdistan region properly cooperated with the Islamic Republic to block anti-Iranian moves by the separatists.
In military terms, too, there was a miscalculation, as the US thought Iran could not save its power and push back against aggression. Washington did not think that several weeks after start of war, Tehran could raise rate of its missile strikes. Also, Washington and Tel Aviv had played down Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, thinking that any strait development is manageable. But about 38 days of war proved the US wrong, something proven to the White House leaders, too.
Even the martyrdom of the Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei, followed by the appointment of the next leader, caused Washington’s calculations for destabilizing Iran to fail, and in practice, the martyrdom of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution did not lead to the outcomes the aggressors had expected.
On the other hand, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz foisted significant economic pressure both on the US and in other countries, including Washington’s allies in Europe. Many inside and outside the US view the dire economic situation resulting from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as the consequence of Washington’s warmongering. Criticism of the economic conditions and of US inability to advance its goals on the battlefield pushed the American administration to seek a way out of the war.
For this reason, the Trump administration, alongside the war, initiated a diplomatic process with Iran. At the same time, Trump began intimidation and, through his threats, attempted to open a path for a ground attack on Isfahan in central Iran to steal Iran’s enriched uranium, but this objective also failed, and the American aggressors reached a dead end in removing uranium from Iran.
With the stalemate in the war, the Trump administration sent a message to Iran through Pakistan, stating that it had a 15‑point proposal for a ceasefire, but Iran did not accept and responded to any attack by a counterattack. At this point, Tehran demonstrated that it had not been intimidated by the threats.
After failed Isfahan attack, Trump started his threats at Iran's infrastructures in what many agree as a war crime, especially when he said he will annihilate Iran as a civilization in hours. Iran was quick and firm to respond with threats to reciprocally strike the infrastructure of the US and its allies in the region. The Iranians formed human chains around the power plants a day before expiration of the deadline. Trump, pressures by home opposition to his threat to bomb Iran's power plants and bridges, withdrew the threat, as Iran practically did not bend and international criticism at Trump mounted.
At the same time, when Iran announced its opposition to the 15-point proposal presented by the US for a ceasefire, it simultaneously put forward 10 points of its own as proposals, stating that these were its conditions for a ceasefire. In the first stage, the US rejected Iran’s preconditions for the ceasefire; however, a few days later in the second stage, seeing that Iran did not retreat in the face of threats, Trump accepted the ceasefire and announced the start of ceasefire negotiations in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Trump attempted to portray this ceasefire as an opportunity for negotiation rather than as the US retreat. Nevertheless, Washington’s breach of promises and obstructionism began simultaneously with the ceasefire, including the failure to establish a ceasefire in Lebanon, even though Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif had explicitly stated that the ceasefire would apply to Iran, Lebanon, and all fronts, and that the US had accepted this comprehensive ceasefire.
However, the following day, Trump claimed that Lebanon was not covered by the ceasefire, despite the fact that the Pakistani ambassador, in a detailed interview, stated that Lebanon was indeed included in the ceasefire and that this obstruction was set up by the Zionist regime. Eventually, under pressure from Iran, a partial ceasefire was established in Lebanon, from which stage the Americans began attempting to gain political concessions.
In fact, when Trump saved himself from the ultimatum issue, he claimed to have the upper hand in the negotiations; however, reports from all American sources have also indicated that Washington lacks any leverage against Tehran.
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran showed it could stand against the bullying US and will not back down from its legitimate rights, despite the US push to wrest concessions from Tehran. But Iran's decision is clear and it is seeking its legal rights, while the US sought to foist excessive demands on Iran, which Tehran totally rejected. Iran will neither accept curbs on its missile range, nor the suspension of enrichment, nor the loss of control over the Strait of Hormuz. According to the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), Iran has the right to enrich uranium and has accepted international monitoring; however, it does not accept illegal pressures.
The current suspension of the Pakistan negotiations should be blamed on the American obstructionism and their excessive demands. Iran has demonstrated that it is prepared to return to the battlefield and is capable of once again dealing serious blows to the Israeli-American camp and of managing the war. At present, the choice rests with the US; either to bend to Iranian terms or to receive heavy blows from Iran on the battleground.
