FIRST ON FOX – Experts on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s manipulative atomic weapons bargaining strategy issued a dire warning to team Trump negotiators on how to avoid falling into the trap of former President Barack Obama’s flawed nuclear deal with Iran.
President Trump issued a scathing indictment of Obama’s agreement when he withdrew from the atomic accord in 2018, declaring, “This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.” Trump asserted that Obama’s 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the formal name for the Iran nuclear deal, did not stop Tehran from building an atomic bomb.
Experts from United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) published a report that outlines the 10 negotiating tactics Iran exploits to secure major concessions while retaining its capability to construct a nuclear weapon.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on March 21, 2025. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The report, in an ode to President Trump’s famous 1987 book “The Art of the Deal,” is called: “Iran’s Version of the ‘Art of the Deal'” and was authored by Saeid Golkar, Jason M. Brodsky and Kasra Aarabi.
The 10 tactics Iran uses in nuclear negotiations to outorganize the U.S. government and its allies, according to UANI, are:
Deception
The Grass Can Be Greener Promises vague future rewards to keep talks alive without offering anything concrete.
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Exploit the illusion of political pluralism – use “moderates” vs. “hardliners” to extract concessions, even though all power lies with the supreme leader.
The Promise of Lucrative Post-Sanctions Business Opportunities
Dangle phantom investment deals to lure Western governments and companies – then pull the rug out.
Fanciful Alarmist Threats
Issue exaggerated threats to stir anti-war sentiment and paralyze tough policymaking in the U.S.
The Art of Ambiguity
Resist clear commitments; rely on vague language to allow deniability while still benefiting from deals.
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Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war in Tehran, Sept. 22, 2011. (Reuters)
Running Down the Clock and Cosmetic Concessions
Engage in endless, exhausting talks to delay action, offering superficial gestures to avoid real consequences
A Post-Colonial Victimization Narrative
Invoke historical grievances to justify current behavior and shift blame onto the West.
Divide and Conquer
Exploit rifts within Western alliances – between the U.S. and Europe, or even within U.S. administrations
Baazar Mentality and Taarof
Use bazaar-style haggling tactics – start high, concede slow, cloak intentions in false politeness.
Influence and Information Operations
Leak selectively and spin the media narrative to present Iran as the reasonable actor driving diplomacy.
The UANI experts explained in greater detail in their report how Iran’s regime maximizes gains with minimum concessions via its 10 deceptive bargaining tactics.
An Iranian military truck carries surface-to-air missiles past a portrait of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a parade on April 18, 2018, in Tehran. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
According to the UANI “These are derived from direct accounts from individuals who have firsthand experience in negotiating and dealing with Iranian officials, native Iranian policy experts, as well as from observations from veteran Iran watchers.”
The Trump administration and Iran have just completed a third round of indirect nuclear talks. According to Reuters, Omani officials have said a new round of U.S.-Iran talks could be held on May 3 in Europe. No formal decision has been taken.
Iran has reached out to Britain, France and Germany ahead of the next negotiating session. This suggests Tehran is keeping its options open, but also wants to assess where the Europeans stand on the possible re-imposition of U.N. sanctions before October, when a resolution ratifying the 2015 accord expires.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, speaks with an unidentified Omani official upon his arrival at Muscat, Oman, Friday, April 25, 2025, a day prior to negotiations with U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. (AP)
UANI says Iran is seeking to play the EU against U.S. to weaken the Western alliance. The experts wrote that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali “Ayatollah Khamenei’s overarching strategy has been rooted in his so-called ‘West without the U.S.’ method. Grounded in Khamenei’s and the Islamic Republic’s vehement anti-Americanism, this strategy has sought to divide the Europeans from the U.S. to undercut U.S. national interests.”
UANI argued that the Iranian regime’s “gimmicks are meant to try to mask the fact that the Iranians are offering nothing more than the concessions it made to President Obama under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) of 2015.”
Iran seeks to manipulate nuclear talks to diminish the “ideal conditions for Israel and/or the U.S. to take military action against Tehran,” noted UANI. Trump’s military threats to target Iran’s nuclear facilities have forced Tehran to engage in negotiations, according to the experts.
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Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, speaks in the Oval Office of the White House on Feb. 3, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump may prefer a diplomatic solution to stop Iran’s creep toward a nuclear weapon, but recently claimed he’ll be “leading the pack” to war with the regime if talks falter.
“I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran,” he told Time magazine in an interview published Friday, while claiming that President Joe Biden had allowed Iran to “become rich.”
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.
