Iran is not the 1950s USSR. It is not in military or technological terms any were near matching the might of some US allies in the region - like India - let alone the US itself. Nor is Iran 1970s China. It is at best a middling regional power, situated within various layers of strategic ties, many of them to friends of Washington. Much of Tehran's policy establishment craves warmer relations with Europe and the US. Refusing Iran diplomacy only drives these moderates and their ambitions further against the wall.
