U.S. President Donald Trump is unhappy with Iran’s latest proposal to end the two-month war, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing a U.S. official.
The plan, which sets aside Iran's nuclear program until after a ceasefire and shipping dispute are resolved, has dampened hopes for a resolution to the conflict that has disrupted energy supplies, fueled inflation, and killed thousands.
Why is Trump unhappy with Iran's latest war proposal?
Trump is unhappy with Iran's proposal because it defers discussion of Tehran's nuclear program to a later stage of negotiations. The U.S. has insisted that nuclear issues must be addressed from the outset of any talks.
A U.S. official briefed on Trump's Monday meeting with advisers confirmed his dissatisfaction, speaking on condition of anonymity.
What does Iran's proposal actually involve?
Iran's plan envisions talks in stages. The first step would require ending the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and providing guarantees against a renewed attack.
Negotiators would then resolve the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iran's trade by sea and the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran aims to reopen under its control. Only after those steps would talks turn to Iran's nuclear program, with Iran still seeking some form of U.S. acknowledgment of its right to enrich uranium.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said the U.S. "will not negotiate through the press" and has "been clear about our red lines." The Trump administration began the war against Iran in February alongside Israel.
What is the background to the US-Iran nuclear dispute?
A 2015 agreement between Iran and several countries, including the U.S., sharply curtailed Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran has long maintained is for peaceful, civilian purposes.
The deal collapsed after Trump unilaterally withdrew from it during his first term. Iran has since advanced its nuclear capabilities significantly.
How did peace talks break down this weekend?
Hopes for a breakthrough faded after the U.S. scrapped a planned visit by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner to Islamabad.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had shuttled in and out of the Pakistani capital twice over the weekend. Araqchi subsequently visited Oman before traveling to Moscow on Monday, where he met President Vladimir Putin and received expressions of support from a longstanding ally.
Araqchi told reporters in Russia that Trump had requested negotiations because the U.S. had not achieved its objectives. Senior Iranian officials told Reuters the proposal Araqchi carried to Islamabad envisioned nuclear talks only as a final stage, once the war and the blockade were resolved.
What is happening to oil prices and shipping through Hormuz?
With the two sides still far apart, oil prices resumed their upward climb, extending gains in early Asia trade on Tuesday. Market analyst Fawad Razaqzada of City Index said that for oil traders, what matters now is the physical flow of crude through the Strait of Hormuz, and that flow remains constrained.
Before the war, between 125 and 140 ships crossed in and out of the strait daily. In the past day, only seven have done so, according to Kpler ship-tracking data and satellite analysis from SynMax, and none carried oil for the global market. At least six tankers loaded with Iranian oil have been forced back to Iran by the U.S. blockade in recent days, ship-tracking data showed.
What domestic pressure does Trump face over the Iran war?
With his approval ratings falling, Trump faces growing pressure at home to end a war for which he has offered the public shifting rationales.
Iran's foreign ministry, meanwhile, condemned U.S. seizures of Iran-linked tankers as the "outright legalization of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas," in a social media post.
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