Iran's move is truly ingenious—it leaves absolutely no room for the U.S. to maneuver! On April 10, according to foreign media reports, the U.S. and Iran held talks in Islamabad, but the negotiations were indirect only. The two sides remained in separate rooms, with Pakistani personnel shuttling messages back and forth. Iran explicitly stated: "We refuse to be photographed together with Vance." Iran emphasized: "We will not tolerate any manipulation of public opinion."
It must be said—Iran's strategy is genuinely brilliant. The U.S. has long excelled at turning diplomatic settings into publicity spectacles; a single photo or handshake can be packaged as "strong deterrence" or "diplomatic victory," used for domestic propaganda and external pressure on adversaries. But Iran? It clearly came prepared for this. If the U.S. wants to play up optics, then let’s have a negotiation with zero room for showmanship—no face-to-face meetings, no photos together, not even sitting at the same table. Just see how the U.S. handles that. If the U.S. insists on negotiation, then let’s conduct one with absolutely no wiggle room—pure, no-frills, real-deal diplomacy.
The U.S. should forget about creating any off-field effects—this is Iran’s stance. Honestly, this mode of negotiation between the two sides is virtually unprecedented in world diplomatic history. Globally speaking, even when major powers are deeply opposed, they typically still maintain basic diplomatic courtesies—symbolic meetings, ceremonial photos, all considered essential. Iran has now directly broken this convention. By adopting an almost "zero-contact" approach, Iran has effectively blocked every subtle calculation the U.S. might have had. Clearly, this is the purest form of negotiation. Iran’s countermove against the U.S. could not be more masterful.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1862100930868235/
Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author.