BREAKING: Elmasry: “The US Administration Seems To Believe The Iranians Are Kind Of On Their Last Legs

A prominent Middle East scholar has challenged Washington’s reading of Iran’s current position in ongoing nuclear and diplomatic negotiations, warning that American assumptions about Tehran’s vulnerability may be fundamentally flawed and could be driving both sides further from a resolution.

Muhammad Elmasry, Professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, speaking on Al Jazeera, argued that the United States appears to be operating from a position of overconfidence, one that may not reflect the reality on the ground in Tehran.

“The US administration seems to believe that the Iranians are kind of on their last legs, that they are almost ready to surrender, that they are perhaps on the verge of an oil storage crisis,” Elmasry said. “Trump keeps talking about how everything is just going to explode within a matter of days. My sense is that that’s not accurate. Iran could actually hold out for some time, and they believe, at least, that they have time on their side.”

Elmasry cautioned that this fundamental miscalculation could explain much of what observers have described as puzzling American positioning in the negotiations. If Washington genuinely believes Tehran is on the brink of collapse, it would have little incentive to offer meaningful concessions or engage seriously at the negotiating table, preferring instead to wait for what it perceives as an inevitable Iranian capitulation.

The professor noted that, taken together, the demands from both Washington and Tehran remain far apart, with no credible evidence that either side has made meaningful progress in bridging the divide. He described the current situation as a “holding pattern,” one that is unlikely to break so long as the United States continues to misread Iran’s staying power and negotiating resolve.