CAIRO (Dispatches) – Iran’s interests office in Cairo has declared that U.S. president Donald Trump is now “begging” Tehran for a nuclear agreement that he unilaterally abandoned in 2018, adding that the balance of power has shifted and Iran now dictates the terms of any future accord.
In a message posted on social media platform X, the Iranian diplomatic mission in Egypt addressed recent U.S. positions, stating: “The agreement that Trump arrogantly and unilaterally withdrew from in 2018 (JCPOA), he is now in 2026 reduced to pleading and begging Iran to regain. He is oblivious to the fact that this time, the game has changed, and it is Iran that sets the terms of the agreement.”
The statement dismissed Washington’s so-called “maximum pressure” policy, asserting that the strategy has not only failed but has also consolidated Iran’s strategic advances. 
It emphasized that the White House should recognize that Tehran holds the upper hand and has positioned itself as the “main architect” of any future deal.
The remarks come amid renewed international efforts to revive negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, following the collapse of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action after the U.S. withdrawal under Trump. Tehran has consistently maintained that any return to the agreement must include guarantees against future U.S. unilateral withdrawals and the lifting of sanctions.