WASHINGTON – It’s been more than a week since President Donald Trump’s announcement America was negotiating with IranBut despite Pakistan offering to host in-person discussions, no face-to-face meeting has been scheduled and Iran has denied talks are taking place.
Both sides have acknowledged exchanging messages through intermediaries, and top diplomats from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt have held talks about possible talks. But it was unclear whether the discussions yielded anything, as thousands more US troops arrived in the Middle East and Trump threatened to attack Iranian energy infrastructure.
In other words, even though progress is being made behind the scenes, there are little public signs that the war is going to end diplomatically any time soon.
Meanwhile, oil prices continue to rise, and gas prices in the US are also rising, an issue for Trump as the midterm elections approach.
Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that America is in serious discussion With a “new, and more just, regime” in place to end the war in Iran, he said “huge progress has been made”, but he also threatened to attack key Iranian energy infrastructure if a deal was not reached soon.
Iran has said that there will be no talks.
“what has happened is surrender The United States requests negotiations with a set of proposals that have reached us through mediators, including Pakistan,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai said on X.
“Our position is very clear. At a time when US military aggression continues with intensity, all our efforts and capabilities are focused on defending Iran.”
Pakistani army chief Syed Asim Munir, whom Trump has called his “favorite field marshal”, has become a key mediator for the US and Iran, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar have also worked on talks, according to a regional official and public statements.
The US has proposed a 15-point plan, which will be delivered to Iran through Pakistan. Trump said Sunday, and White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt reiterated Monday, that Iran has agreed to at least some points, the full list of which has not been publicly released.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff has offered few details, among them that Iran cannot enrich uranium on its own soil — a demand that has been a non-starter for Tehran in previous discussions. He also said that as part of the 15 points, Iran would have to give up its stockpile of 10,000 kilograms of fissile material and the “monitoring question” would also be resolved. “These are all danger lines for us,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that the U.S. demands include that the Iranian regime “can never have nuclear weapons, and they have to stop sponsoring terrorism, and they have to stop making weapons that could threaten their neighbors.”
Iran has repeatedly rejected the U.S. plan, including as recently as Monday, and has retaliated with five points of its own, including “completely stopping aggression and killings by the enemy,” the establishment of concrete mechanisms to ensure that war will not be imposed on Iran again, war damage and compensation, and international recognition of Iran’s sovereign right to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passageway that carries more than 20% of global oil. Takes more.
