After years of stalled diplomacy, the US and Iran are back in high-level talks. Surprise meetings have taken place in Oman and Rome, with more expected soon. Could this be President Donald Trump’s long-awaited foreign policy win? Or will competing agendas, regional tensions and internal divisions doom the negotiations before they begin?

This week, Mark Leonard welcomes Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy director of ECFR’s MENA programme; Mohsen Milani, executive director of the Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies and professor of politics at the University of South Florida; and Nathalie Tocci, director of the Institute of International Affairs (IAI) in Rome, to explore what both the US and Iran really want out of the talks. What role can Europe play, especially after its failed efforts to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)? And how do powers like China and Russia fit into the US-Iran equation?

This podcast episode was recorded on April 24th 2025.

Bookshelf:

No country for love by Yaroslav Trofimov

Capernaum by Khaled Mouzanar

Iran's Rise and Rivalry With the Us in the Middle East: Iran's Rise and Its Geostrategic Rivalry With the Us in the Middle East by Mohsen Milani

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