'Stubborn, tenacious': Past negotiators on what's it like to broker a deal with Iran

Latest state-media reports say no Iranian delegation has departed for Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks with the United States. Uncertainty is framed around whether the Americans will shift their positions. The article notes that Rob Malley and other JCPOA negotiators emphasize 'deep mutual distrust' and contrast negotiating styles between the Trump era and Iran. Wendy Sherman suggested that the JCPOA required patience, taking about 18 months to reach a deal. Malley argued that after attacks on Iran and the killings of top Iranian leaders, trust is almost at an all-time low, and Tehran may be hesitant to relinquish enriched uranium without a robust, ironclad agreement that cannot be reversed easily.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke about a 'deep historical distrust in Iran' toward the US government's behaviour and performance, citing the 'non-constructive and contradictory' approach of US officials as a challenge to negotiations.

The JCPOA talks in 2015 were led by then-US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's then-foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Jon Finer, Kerry's chief of staff during the negotiations, described Kerry's patience as a huge asset and recounted how negotiators would revisit the same issues many times. One Iranian tactic noted by Finer was to say 'no to everything' to determine what mattered most to the United States.