Former Trump foreign policy adviser Walid Phares said Saturday on Newsmax that the current U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations are only in the preliminary stages and that President Donald Trump plans to apply serious pressure later in the process.
The United States and Iran held a second round of nuclear negotiations Saturday at the Omani Embassy in Rome, where officials reported progress in talks over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
However, according to Phares, a Newsmax foreign policy analyst and co-host of the "War and Freedom" podcast, these early meetings are just the beginning of a broader strategy led by Trump.
Speaking on "The Count," Phares said, "Donald Trump is smarter than that. He already knows the Iran regime game. He is going from step by step, but he's waiting for something very important. When we get to the actual meat — now, these are the appetizers."
The negotiations are expected to continue with another session scheduled for next week.
Phares described the initial talks as setting the stage for more consequential discussions involving three core commitments: denuclearization, halting financial support to militias, and ending domestic repression.
"When they come to sign on important things — number one, the commitment to denuclearize; number two, the commitment not to fund the militias; and the third commitment, which is not to bleed their own people — this is where the real game is going to start," Phares said. "And I think Donald Trump and his advisers are aware of that."
He added that while pressure is subtle, it is still felt in the region. "There is one pressure happening now, people are not paying attention [to] — in Yemen. Our forces are pounding the Houthis. It is heard in Tehran," Phares said. He also suggested that the Iranian opposition may soon be invited to the White House, signaling another form of leverage.
Asked about reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is encouraging the United States to escalate tensions, possibly through a limited strike on Iran's nuclear sites, Phares dismissed the notion that Israel is acting independently.
"I don't think this is a decoupled matter, meaning the Israelis are on their own. We are on our own. … It's all coordinated. It's one big umbrella," he said. "Donald Trump is not going to give the regime a gift. … Israel is part of the game. Arab countries are part of the game. The Iranian opposition is part of the game."
Phares emphasized that the Trump team is building a multi-pronged approach, combining military, diplomatic, and legal pressures. "There is a legal battle happening as well," he said, referring to the recent return of an American national's body from Iran. "Donald Trump can use [that] in a very complex negotiation. It's not a contract for business. It's a national security matter."
"Business is just something that the Iranians may be interested [in], but they know this could be a trap. So they are behaving," he said.
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