Why Iran-US negotiations keep failing

What the report says

Al Jazeera’s Mahjoob Zweiri argues that repeated Iran-US talks have stalled less because of the wording of draft agreements than because each side approaches negotiations through a long memory of betrayal and mistrust. The article says Washington’s outlook was shaped by the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran, while Iran’s stance hardened after years of US pressure, especially after Washington left the 2018 nuclear deal and later expanded its demands beyond the nuclear issue.

The piece says several negotiation efforts have taken place since the start of the war, but only one memorandum of understanding, signed in Islamabad on June 18, was completed and it collapsed within days. Al Jazeera reports that this interim deal sought to address both sides’ core concerns, including limits on Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile, sanctions relief tied to implementation, and assurances on sovereignty and nonaggression. It also notes that ballistic missiles were left out of the text.

According to the article, the agreement failed when Tehran paused its participation in talks over the absence of a ceasefire in Lebanon. The author says that episode reinforced Iranian doubts that a US promise alone can prevent renewed conflict. Since then, the dispute has centered increasingly on sequencing: Washington wants Iranian nuclear steps first, while Tehran wants sanctions relief and security guarantees before it makes concessions. The broader significance, the article argues, is that the real obstacle is trust, not just policy details.