The ayatollah regime wants to resume nuclear talks with the Americans from the point where they stopped last June, just before the 12-day war. That is why they insisted on moving the talks to Oman, and why they claim the discussions will not be direct but conducted through a mediator. By framing it this way, they are trying to cement the narrative that the issue is only the nuclear program - and that nothing else is on the table. The ayatollah regime knows very well that the Trump administration cannot leave the region without either a strike or a deal. They are attempting to intimidate him with the threat of a prolonged and expensive war, while simultaneously cornering him by refusing to discuss anything beyond the nuclear file.
