diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index c96953e3cd2f..dc867e89ee6d 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -228,9 +228,9 @@ static int nft_opts_init(int argc, char * const argv[], struct nft_opts *opts)
 				opts->argv[opts->argc++] = new_argv;
 				continue;
 			}
-		} else if (argv[i][0] == '{') {
+		} else if (strchr(argv[i], '{')) {
 			scope++;
-		} else if (argv[i][0] == '}') {
+		} else if (strchr(argv[i], '}')) {
 			scope--;
 		}