Military Pressure in Negotiation

TEHRAN (Iran News) The unstable and demagogic president of the United States has recently, in several public statements, warned Iran that a “large fleet” is moving toward the region. He has called for Iran’s immediate return to the negotiating table to reach an agreement on “not having nuclear weapons,” and otherwise has promised more severe consequences. These warnings are issued in the context of previous military operations (such as the operation known as “Midnight Hammer” in June 2025 against Iran’s nuclear facilities).

Despite this highly tense atmosphere, indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran, mediated by Oman, were recently resumed in Oman (February 6, 2026).

Both sides described this round of talks as a “good start” and agreed to hold further discussions in the future.

Key U.S. demands and Iran’s positions

Based on limited news and various reports, U.S. demands and Iran’s responses are outlined as follows:

Complete abandonment of the nuclear weapons program, which appears to be Trump’s main and repeatedly stated red line.

Restrictions on the missile program by limiting the range of Iran’s ballistic missiles.

Cessation of support for so-called proxy groups in the region, including cutting financial and military support to Iran’s Shiite regional allies.

Improvement of the human rights situation and an end to the suppression of domestic protesters.

Iran’s positions and responses:

Limiting the scope of negotiations: Iran has repeatedly stated that it is only willing to negotiate over the nuclear issue for the purpose of lifting sanctions, and considers issues such as the missile program or regional influence to be its own “red lines” and non-negotiable.

Emphasis on the right to peaceful nuclear energy: Iran has always stressed that its nuclear program has been exclusively for peaceful purposes and that it has never sought to build nuclear weapons.

Now, in order to understand these statements, attention should be paid to several important historical turning points:

In 2018, the previous U.S. administration unilaterally withdrew from the Comprehensive Joint Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reinstated severe sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In June 2025, the United States announced that it had attacked three key Iranian nuclear facilities (Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan) and claimed that this operation had severely weakened Iran’s nuclear capabilities.

The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Zionist regime, by hiring mercenaries from the MEK (Monafeqin), Komala, and PJAK, laid the groundwork for riots aimed at overthrowing the system in Iran on (18 and 19 Dey 1404), resulting in the deaths of more than 3,000 people and the destruction of 350 mosques, libraries, cultural and religious centers, and banks.

At present, the negotiations in Oman are progressing in a favorable manner, and there is hope that they will continue and lead to fruitful results.

Trump needed these negotiations in order to escape the deadlock of laying the groundwork for war—at least in the media space—and the pressure of the opposing party in the United States.

Iran also viewed these negotiations as paving the way for changing the domestic paradigm of fear of war and altering the atmosphere.

Now, with these expectations from both sides, the Muscat meeting can be evaluated as a step toward changing the psychological and emotional conditions of the entire region. And, of course, it remains to be seen what axes the process will construct next week for the white and black houses of this chessboard.