Bushehr main nuclear reactor
Bushehr main nuclear reactorReuters

According to a report in Israel Hayom, Iran's latest gesture to the international community is all about buying time and distracting attention, and meanwhile, it will continue on its march toward nuclear capacity.

On Wednesday, Iran announced that its negotiations with western powers regarding the Islamic Republic's nuclear program would resume by the end of November. The announcement was made by Ali Bagheri Kani, Iran's new chief negotiator on the nuclear issue.

The United States responded with satisfaction, with senior administration officials insisting that negotiations could yet salvage the deal it claims to want to return to. From statements made, it appears that the U.S. is confident that once Iran returns to the negotiating table, it will be a quick and simple matter to revive the deal; Israel, meanwhile, has made a far more pessimistic appraisal of the situation and has concluded that Iran intends to drag out the negotiations for a long period, during which it will continue with its nuclear program.

"In the end, they will come to an agreement with the United States and the western powers, but at a time and in a position of its choosing," the report concludes, quoting Israeli officials.

Even within the Biden administration, there are competing assessments of what Iran intends. Earlier this week, Robert Malley, the US Special Representative for Iran, gave a press briefing at which he said that "the window for diplomacy will never close."

"We are at a critical time regarding the possibility of returning to the original nuclear deal," he said. "We believe the only solution to the nuclear problem is diplomatic ... once Iran returns to the talks, it will not be too difficult to reach an agreement, because all that is required is their compliance with the restrictions set by the nuclear agreement and the lifting of the sanctions imposed by the international community, which are not part of the agreement."

However, just a day later, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made a speech in which he stressed that "the door to negotiations with Iran will not remain open forever. We are looking for a united international position."

Meanwhile, both admitted that once Iran reaches a certain level of enrichment, the deal will cease to have any relevance whatsoever.