CAIRO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday characterized recent indirect nuclear negotiations with the United States as a "step forward," even as Washington moved to tighten the economic noose around Tehran with new sanctions and tariff threats.
The talks, mediated by Oman, represent the first high-level contact between the two adversaries since the Israel-Iran conflict last June, during which the United States attacked Iran's key nuclear facilities.
While Pezeshkian framed the dialogue as Tehran's "consistent strategy" for peaceful resolution, analysts say the diplomatic opening reflects cautious crisis management rather than any genuine rapprochement.
IRAN WANTS "RESPECT FOR RESPECT"
Writing on his X account, Pezeshkian said Iran's nuclear ambitions remain firmly within the "explicit rights" guaranteed by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. "The Iranian nation has always responded to respect with respect," he wrote, "but it does not tolerate the language of force."
Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who led Iran's delegation in Muscat, suggested Washington lacks the "necessary seriousness" to carry the diplomatic process forward.
The continued imposition of sanctions on Iran and certain military movements in West Asia, Araghchi said, "raise doubts about the other side's level of seriousness and readiness," pointing to what he described as mixed signals from the United States.
He stressed that Iran's peaceful nuclear rights, including uranium enrichment, are non-negotiable and said any progress would depend on the United States treating that issue with seriousness. Iran's missile program, he added, has never been and will not be on the agenda of talks with Washington, with negotiations focused solely on the nuclear issue.
The United States and Israel have said Iran must dismantle its nuclear capacity and curb its ballistic missile program -- demands analysts say Tehran is unlikely to accept.
U.S. CONTINUES "MAXIMUM PRESSURE"
The diplomatic overtures in Muscat were met almost immediately by a fresh volley of economic measures from Washington. Shortly after the delegations departed, the U.S. State Department announced new sanctions targeting 14 vessels allegedly involved in the export of Iranian oil.
U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said U.S. President Donald Trump remained committed to reducing Iran's oil and petrochemical exports under Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign.
Compounding the pressure, Trump signed an executive order the same day when the talks happened in Oman, threatening a possible 25 percent tariffs on any nation -- ally or foe -- that continues to facilitate trade with the Islamic Republic.
The juxtaposition of negotiations and punitive measures reflects a familiar pattern in U.S.-Iran relations, in which diplomacy is pursued alongside economic and military pressure.
This approach, often described as "diplomacy by coercion," has contributed to a volatile atmosphere. While Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Abdolrahim Mousavi, said Tehran is "fully prepared for conflict," he stressed that the Islamic Republic has no interest in triggering a wider regional confrontation.
In the weeks leading up to the talks, the United States intensified its military presence in the Middle East, deploying a substantial buildup of naval and air assets, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers. Iran, meanwhile, has also stepped up its military preparations.
On Tuesday, U.S. Central Command said a U.S. F-35C fighter jet shot down an Iranian Shahed-139 drone over the Arabian Sea in what it described as self-defense. Iran said the one of its drones had completed a "surveillance mission" in international waters.
TALKS OFFER PATH TO MANAGING RISK, NOT END RIVALRY
Analysts say the renewed talks are less a sign of rapprochement than an attempt by both sides to manage risks.
Adnan Bourji, director of the Lebanese National Center for Studies, believed the United States entered the Muscat talks "not with an intention for peace, but because it cannot guarantee the outcome of a war if one were to break out."
Metwally Hassan, a Cairo-based researcher at the Nile Center for Strategic and Political Studies, said the Iran-U.S. relations were likely to remain cautious rather than transformative.
"Diplomacy may help contain tensions in the short term," Hassan said, "but the situation remains fragile. Long-term stability will hinge not only on a nuclear understanding but also on broader regional dialogue addressing security, economic pressures and energy concerns."
He added that future relations were more likely to be defined by managed competition than reconciliation, with Iran maintaining its network of regional allies as a deterrent and the United States relying on military presence, alliances and sanctions to counter Iranian influence.
Abdulaziz Alshaabani, a researcher at the Al Riyadh Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said the immediate goal of the talks appeared to be de-escalation, particularly after recent U.S. military deployments, including the dispatch of an aircraft carrier to the region.
"A rapid move toward normalization is unlikely," he said. "The more probable scenario is continued management of disagreements through intermittent and often indirect negotiations." ■
