A few months ago, discussions began between Tehran and the other parties to the 2015 nuclear agreement about how the deal could be restored, but these soon broke off. The Islamic Republic has since stalled, making use of various pretexts—until quite recently, when it told the U.S. it was ready to resume the talks, which are expected to begin again near the end of this month. Yaakov Amidror assesses the mullahs’ motivations:
The Iranian tactic of delaying the return to talks was possibly designed to make the Americans so enthusiastic about the mere resumption of negotiations that they would agree to the Iranian demand and ease the sanctions for the duration of the talks. The [reason] why Iran is returning to the talks is thus straightforward: the present leadership in Tehran has a clear interest in returning to the 2015 agreement because it is a good agreement for the Iranians, who seek to develop nuclear weapons. The Iranians understood that the nuclear deal was good for them, and now even more so, in light of the rapid progress in their enrichment program.
Moreover, they delayed the resumption of talks because they realized that a military option did not exist, neither in the current administration nor the previous one. The absence of a military option was the main weakness the Iranians sensed when the previous U.S. administration withdrew from the nuclear deal. It was a significant mistake to withdraw from the deal without charting a viable military option and demonstrating the determination to use it if necessary.
The Iranian perception that there is no military option on the table will also be their basic assumption in future negotiations. . . . The Iranians also observed that after launching drone attacks against an American base in al-Tanf in eastern Syria last month, the United States failed to respond in any serious manner. . . . This is not how a superpower should behave, but the Iranians assumed that the attack would not harm them.
This lack of an American response signaled that the U.S. wants to return to negotiations at almost any cost. But, unfortunately, it also might lead Iran to conclude that it can continue its aggressive behavior in the Middle East as long as there are prospects for further talks.
Read more on Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security: https://jiss.org.il/en/why-is-iran-returning-to-the-negotiating-table/