'Calculated mutual pressure': Why US and Iran disagree on whether in talks or not

A glaring rhetorical divide has opened between Washington and Tehran over the status of bilateral negotiations over the past several days, representing calculated strategic moves on both sides designed to mount political and public pressure on the other, according to expert analysis.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that Tehran has no plans to receive or send any delegations "during these days," and that Iran is currently not engaged in direct or indirect negotiations with the US. The only talks under way were discussions with Oman over the management of the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei said.

However, US President Donald Trump said on Monday that talks with Iran are "going on right now," calling it Tehran's "last chance" for a deal to end the five-month war.

The contradictory narratives come after Trump said on Saturday he had canceled previously authorized "massive strikes" on Iran and announced on Sunday that renewed talks with Iranian representatives would commence Monday, though he did not specify the location or participants.

The US insistence that talks are still underway serves several purposes to ramp up pressure on Tehran, said Li Zixin, a Middle East expert at the China Institute of International Studies.

"First, it projects an image of US responsibility and a genuine commitment to a political resolution. Second, it signals that Washington still believes it controls the trajectory of events. Third, it aims to show that the US has not been sidelined from negotiations over the rules of passage through the Strait of Hormuz," Li told China Media Group (CMG).

"Fourth, it creates a narrative – in Washington's own words – of 'inconsistency' on Iran's part, implying that Tehran is quietly seeking a deal while publicly denying it, thereby launching a new round of public pressure against the Iranian government," he said.

Baghaei on Tuesday described the ongoing talks between Iran and Oman as "positive" at both technical and political levels, with a focus on designating safe routes for vessels' passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

The negotiations are continuing, Baghaei told state-run IRIB TV, saying that Iran seeks to develop mechanisms with Oman to manage future shipping traffic through the strategic strait. He said any new routes must safeguard the sovereign rights and national security of both Iran and Oman, adding that the final results will be announced after the talks' conclusion.

For Iran, securing an agreement with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz navigation rules will be a fundamental step for its subsequent political bargaining with the US, Li said.

Iran aims to use the negotiations with Oman that involve regional mediators as well to try to forge a broad regional consensus that would establish a new order for passage through the strategic strait without US participation, he noted.

Then building on such a consensus, Tehran hopes to generate collective regional pressure on the US and constrain its room for maneuver, Li explained.

In an earlier interview with CMG, Li said it remains highly unlikely for both the US and Iran to achieve a comprehensive agreement across all outstanding matters in this new round of political bargaining.

The US insists on retaining dominant oversight of strait navigation and has rejected Iranian proposals for regional-led management mechanisms; Iran, meanwhile, refuses to yield its strategic influence over the waterway or accept US-imposed settlement terms, he noted.

The two sides will more probably continue their long-standing pattern of "talking while fighting," a protracted stalemate that has defined their encounters over the past months, he said.

(With input from Xinhua)