Newsletters
U.S. President Donald Trump is willing to offer economic sanctions relief and release frozen funds to Iran in exchange for concrete progress related to its nuclear program, a U.S. official told American news outlets Axios and CNN on Monday.
Washington is engaging in “positive and constructive” talks through mediators, CNN quoted a U.S. official as saying, adding that negotiators would not finalize an agreement unless nuclear-related concerns were fully resolved.
The White House did not immediately respond to Turkish news agency Anadolu’s request for comment on the remarks.
The prospective diplomatic opening comes after Trump on Saturday rejected an Iranian proposal aimed at easing tensions and reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, calling Tehran’s conditions “unacceptable” amid the seven-month Iran war.
Trump said Sunday that he expected additional negotiations with Tehran this week, asserting that Iranian officials had “overplayed” their hand during earlier talks.
Mediators are pressing Iran to make concessions on its nuclear program in an effort to revive cease-fire negotiations with the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The initiative follows Trump’s rejection of an Iranian proposal for a seven-day cease-fire that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and ended the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, according to the Journal.
Mediators described the effort as a long-shot attempt to secure movement from Tehran on its nuclear program, while Iran has so far given little indication that it is prepared to discuss the issue.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran remained open to negotiations but would respond to renewed military action.
“We are fully prepared for the war to resume,” Araghchi told NBC News when asked about the Journal report.
“We stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war. But at the same time we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose,” he added.
Arab mediators said Iran had made no concessions since Trump rejected its cease-fire proposal, while Gulf officials said Tehran wants Washington to offer concessions before negotiations advance.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, whose country is relaying messages between Washington and Tehran, said the conflict was becoming increasingly difficult to resolve.
“This conflict is very complex,” he said earlier in New York at a special U.N. General Assembly edition of the Qatar Economic Forum.
Iran wants Washington to return to a memorandum of understanding reached in June that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and eventually beginning nuclear negotiations in exchange for measures including sanctions relief, the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian funds held overseas and an end to the U.S. blockade.
U.S. officials, however, said Trump no longer wants to return to that agreement, while Washington has tightened sanctions and maintained its blockade.
A senior Middle Eastern official involved in the talks said Iran could compromise on its nuclear program but would require explicit assurances that Israel would not attack again after any U.S.-Iran agreement.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
