Trump could lose the advantage in Iran PHOTO: Hepta
Iran, through Pakistani mediators, has presented the United States with a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, with nuclear negotiations being postponed to a later stage, a US official and two sources familiar with the matter said.
Diplomatic negotiations are deadlocked and Iran’s leadership is divided over which nuclear concessions should be put on the table. The Iranian proposal would bypass this issue in order to reach an agreement more quickly.
But lifting the embargo and ending the war would eliminate President Trump’s advantage in any future talks to eliminate Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and persuade Tehran to suspend enrichment — two primary war goals for Trump, he writes. Axios.
Trump is expected to hold a meeting of the Iran Crisis Room with his top national security and foreign policy team on Monday, according to three US officials.
A source said Trump’s team would discuss the impasse in negotiations and potential next steps.
Trump signaled in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that he wants to continue the naval blockade blocking Iran’s oil exports, hoping it will prompt Tehran to relent in the coming weeks.
“When you have huge amounts of oil flowing through your system … if for whatever reason that line is shut down because you can’t put it in containers or ships … what happens is that line explodes from the inside … They say they only have about three days before that happens,” Trump said.
The crisis in the negotiations between US and Iran deepened over the weekend, after the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Pakistan ended without progress.
Araghchi brought up the plan to circumvent the nuclear issue during his meetings in Islamabad, two sources familiar with the matter said. The new proposal, delivered to the US through Pakistani mediators, focuses first on resolving the strait crisis and the US blockade.
“These are delicate diplomatic discussions, and the U.S. will not negotiate through the media. As the president said, United States they are in control and will only make a deal that puts the American people first by never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Axios.
But lifting the blockade and ending the war would remove President Trump’s negotiating leverage in any future talks on eliminating Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and persuading Tehran to suspend enrichment — two primary war goals for Trump.
A source said Trump’s team will discuss the impasse in negotiations and potential next steps.
Trump signaled in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that he wants to continue the naval blockade that is choking off Iran’s oil exports, hoping it will force Tehran to relent in the next few weeks.
“When you have huge amounts of oil flowing through your system … if for whatever reason that line is shut down because you can’t put it in containers or ships … what happens is that line explodes from the inside. … They say they only have about three days until that happens,” Trump said.
The White House had announced that Trump’s emissaries, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, would meet with Araghchi in Islamabad, but the Iranians did not commit to anything. Trump told Axios that Iran’s stance led him to cancel that trip.
“I don’t see any point in sending them on an 18-hour flight in the current situation. It’s too long. We might as well do it over the phone. The Iranians can call us if they want. We’re not going to travel just to sit there,” Trump said.
On Sunday, Araghchi held talks with Omani officials in Muscat that focused on the Strait of Hormuz, then returned to Islamabad for a second round of talks.
On Monday, Araghchi was to move to Moscow to meet with the Russian president Vladimir Putin.
A source said Araghchi made it clear to Pakistani, Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari mediators over the weekend that there was no consensus within the Iranian leadership on how to address the US demands. The US wants Iran to suspend uranium enrichment for at least a decade and remove its enriched uranium from the country.
In this context, the armistice would be extended for a long period or the parties would agree on the definitive cessation of war.
Under the proposal, nuclear negotiations would begin only at a later stage, after the opening of the strait and the lifting of the blockade.
The White House has received the proposal, but it is unclear whether the United States is willing to consider it.
