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The End of Iran’s Nuclear Dream: The West’s Seriousness in Confronting Tehran!
Seriousness and decisiveness are now two Western demands that are increasingly imposing themselves on any dialogue or negotiations with the Iranian regime regarding its nuclear program. This issue has already consumed much more time than it deserves and requires.
Since the West began negotiations with the Iranian regime to find a peaceful solution that would end the shadows of suspicion hovering over its nuclear program, ambiguity and uncertainty have been defining aspects of the Iranian delegation’s approach. The dominant and prevailing strategy has been to prolong negotiations as much as possible, seemingly aiming to exhaust the other party and get them to accept Iran’s proposals, while the regime attempts to conceal its true intentions from the West and the world.
Although the United States, during Trump’s first term, initiated the withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement—an agreement that was fundamentally ill-suited to the nuclear program and likely favored Iran—and began exerting greater pressure on Tehran, culminating in the current maximum pressure policy, the European countries, which initially adopted a somewhat lenient and accommodating stance toward the regime, have started to wake up from the illusion of appeasement. They now realize the failure of this approach in dealing with Tehran.
The Iranian regime continues to try to play on divisions and exploit differences between the EU countries and the US to strengthen its position and achieve its goals. However, at the same time, Iran is well aware that there is a notable consensus between the US and Europe regarding the Iranian nuclear program—specifically the strong desire to settle it decisively and prevent Tehran from further playing games and delaying tactics, thus wasting time.
The desire for clear seriousness from the Iranian regime in nuclear negotiations is what Christophe Lemoine, spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, emphasized in a press conference on April 24, 2025. He stated that the European troika prefers dialogue but wants to see how serious Iran truly is. He added, “The only solution is a diplomatic solution, and Iran must engage decisively in this process. This is a proposal repeatedly made by the European troika, and we will continue dialogue with the Iranians.”
However, this important statement coincides with the Europeans’ insistence on the "Snapback Sanctions" mechanism incorporated into the 2015 nuclear deal. According to diplomatic sources, the European troika now aims to activate this mechanism by August, instead of the previously scheduled June, if a substantial agreement is not reached by then. It’s worth noting that this opportunity ends on October 18, coinciding with the expiration of the 2015 agreement. Additionally, there has been improved coordination between the US and European countries regarding negotiations with Tehran, especially after the chief US negotiator for technical matters, Michael Anton, provided a briefing to European diplomats in Paris on April 17.
Therefore, it is clear that the Iranian regime no longer has the room to continue playing games and delaying tactics to maintain its dream of acquiring nuclear weapons. The main Western demand—namely the United States and the European Union—is to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions once and for all.
by Mir Mohammadi
