The specter of an emerging Arab-Israeli bloc that could tilt the Middle East balance of power further away from Iran is driving the Islamic Republic to pursue nuclear talks with world powers with renewed determination, officials and analysts said.
Indirect talks in Qatar between Tehran and Washington on salvaging a 2015 nuclear pact ended on Wednesday without progress. Iran questioned the United States' resolve, and Washington called on Tehran to drop extra demands.
But the talks' difficulty has not discouraged Iran, two officials and a politician, all Iranian, said, adding that Iran's hard-line establishment was set on pursuing diplomacy.