Iran is not ready to relent on President Trump's threat to 'make a deal on the nuclear programme or be bombed'. The Islamic Republic has, in a show of defiance, rather warned its neighbours - Turkiye, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain - that host American bases to refrain from offering any assistance to an intimidating Trump.
Tehran's disregard to the two-month window of talks opened by Washington on March 7 followed by its 'stay out of it' warning to its neighbours threaten to push Middle East, the world's most volatile regions, towards further chaos. The only pliability that the clergy-led state has shown is its willingness to continue indirect talks through Oman, a Gulf state long serving as a channel for messages between the two rival countries.
Intoxicated with power, President Trump hangs around his stance in a belief that he can bully Iran into subordination - despite the persistent defiance that the Islamic republic has shown over the years in its dealings with the world's sole superpower. And while Iran does have reasons to avoid direct talks with Washington - reasons rooted in the terms of engagement, set forth by JCPOA, allowing mediation by powers like the EU, Russia and China - it should avoid its obstinate attitude and count on its diplomatic muscle.
Both sides sticking to their guns does not auger well for a region already embroiled in a host of bloody confrontations - Israeli genocide in Gaza; Israel-Iran skirmishes; US military strikes on Yemen; and volatility in Syria in the wake of Assad's ouster. There is need for both sides to climb down from their stated positions in the interest of peace in a region. Other states with power potential should come forward to avoid the US-Iran confrontation from graduating into a full-scale war.
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