ROME - Under a partially sunny sky in the Italian capital, Republican U.S. Presidential envoy Steve Witkoff headed to the Omani diplomatic premises to begin indirect talks with Iranians. For his fellow Democratic Americans back in the U.S., however, April 19th couldn't have been gloomier.

For the officials who sat at the negotiating table with Iran in 2015, watching the JCPOA – the fruit of two years of their efforts – unravel under Donald Trump just three years later, it's unbearable to see this president mark the end of the tussle over Iran's nuclear program under his name. After all, Trump has already elbowed himself into the Ukraine saga, and now aims to end a war that began under a Democratic administration. Another victory for the ex-real estate giant would only bode well for Republicans in the upcoming 2028 presidential election, and become another tarnishing stain on Democratic history.

Sources have told the Tehran Times that, while the possibility of a new agreement between Iran and the U.S. under a second Trump term remains uncertain, Democrats are already looking for ways to dim the prospects for such a deal. Rather than outright opposition, the Democrats appear to be seeking to derail the talks, which have so far been described as constructive.

In one such attempt, former U.S. Secretary of State and JCPOA negotiator during the Obama administration, John Kerry, suggested Trump should try to cross Iran's red lines, demanding complete dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program as well as caps on its missile and drone capabilities. In an opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal, Kerry argued that "Tehran has backed itself into a corner," and therefore Trump would be able to pressure Iran into making further concessions.

A source previously told the Tehran Times that Iran only agreed to enter indirect talks with the U.S. after the American president stated in a letter delivered in March that the talks would be limited to Iran's nuclear program. Thus far during the talks, the Americans have not mentioned the dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program either. It is all but certain that Iran will exit the talks if any of those subjects are raised.

Democrats have also been trying to paint Iranians as dangerous and ingenuine. Kerry's deputy, Wendy Sherman, who directly negotiated the JCPOA with Araghchi in the 2010s, attempted to portray him as a menacing opponent for Witkoff. "Araghchi is a very tough and intelligent person; he speaks English fluently and knows all the technical details, so Witkoff is facing a tough competitor," she told American media before the first round of indirect talks.

Before sitting down with Trump, Tehran engaged in multiple rounds of talks with the Biden administration in an attempt to revive the JCPOA. Washington, however, left the negotiation table when the parties were close to an agreement in 2022, the year Iran became convulsed with deadly riots, according to previous remarks by Russia's Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov speaking to the Tehran Times. Ulyanov was directly involved in the revival talks.

By Mona Hojat Ansari