Iran’s negotiating strategy over its nuclear program has come under renewed scrutiny, with senior Iranian opposition sources and regional observers highlighting Tehran’s calculated approach in gaining leverage during talks with Western powers. Throughout multiple rounds of negotiations, especially during the inception of President Donald Trump’s administration, Iran’s ability to read its counterpart and dictate the framework of talks has, by many accounts, granted it a significant upper hand. This strategic maneuvering, focused on confining dialogue strictly to nuclear topics, allowed Iran to avoid accountability for its extensive ballistic missile program, regional military interference, and sponsorship of hostile proxies threatening Israeli and regional security.
As President Trump took office in 2017, his administration was pressed to score a diplomatic achievement within the first 100 days, a time-sensitive pressure point Tehran exploited. Reports from sources aligned with the Iranian opposition indicate that Iranian negotiators adeptly understood the American desire for a quick, visible win—a vulnerability they transformed into bargaining power. Rather than negotiate comprehensive constraints or address their destabilizing activities, Tehran’s representatives channeled the talks into the single lane of nuclear enrichment and stockpile restrictions, keeping off the table any serious discussion of terrorism, ballistic missiles, or regional aggression.
Iran’s negotiating doctrine combines psychological acumen with an incremental approach. Since the collapse of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—a deal already criticized by Israel for leaving Iranian terror sponsorship and missile development untouched—Tehran has systematically isolated the nuclear file from its broader strategy. This approach allowed Iran to embark on diplomatic engagement with the United States and Europe while simultaneously intensifying support for allied terrorist organizations such as Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as orchestrating destabilizing operations in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
This diplomatic insulation has resulted in a paradox: even as sanctions were debated or re-imposed, Iran’s destabilizing activities continued with relative impunity. Israeli security officials have consistently warned that siloing nuclear issues only serves to embolden Tehran’s broader campaign to target Israel and Western allies through its regional proxies. The October 7, 2023 massacre by Hamas terrorists—supported by Iranian resources—was the deadliest antisemitic barbarity since the Holocaust. This atrocity, together with ongoing missile attacks and abductions, underscores that separating nuclear negotiations from wider regional security is a recipe for renewed violence.
For Israel, the stakes are existential. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior Israeli defense leadership—including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Defense Minister Israel Katz—insist that no diplomatic process with Iran can ignore the regime’s weapons proliferation, terror financing, and orchestrated attacks against Israeli civilians. Israel maintains the right to act preemptively in self-defense, underlining that international agreements must deliver concrete, enforceable curbs not just on uranium enrichment, but on the regime’s entire spectrum of malign conduct.
Iran’s mastery of negotiations also extends to its alliances, working closely with Russia and China to evade sanctions and advance shared interests against the Western-led order. This network—sometimes called the “axis of resistance”—seeks to expand Iranian influence through asymmetric warfare, information operations, and the direct provision of weapons and training to militant groups across the region.
Looking ahead, analysts warn that any future engagement with Iran must avoid the errors of narrow, technical diplomacy. Only a unified approach—combining economic pressure, military deterrence, and inclusion of all regional security threats—can hope to curtail the ambitions of a regime committed to expanding its reach through both conventional and unconventional means. For Israel, clarity of purpose, unwavering defense posture, and moral transparency remain indispensable in the ongoing battle to preserve regional stability and democratic values amid persistent threats from Tehran and its proxies.
