Kamal Ghorui
As second round of peace talks stalled, Iran reportedly gave the United States a new proposal on reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and ending of the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage.Citing US officials and two sources, Axios reported that Iranian foreign minister Araghchi made it clear to the Pakistani, Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari mediators over the weekend that there is no consensus inside the Iranian leadership about 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.The new proposal, given to the US via the Pakistani mediators, focuses on solving the crisis over the strait and the US blockade first. As part of that, the ceasefire would be extended for a long period or the parties would agree on a permanent end to the war.Also read: Trump snaps at reporter over question on DC shooter’s ‘manifesto’According to the proposal, the nuclear negotiations would only start at a later stage, after the strait was open and the blockade lifted.The White House has received the proposal but it’s unclear whether the US is willing to explore it.“These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the US will not negotiate through the press. As the president has said, the United States holds the cards and will only make a deal that puts the American people first, never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Axios.Why it mattersAs the Iranian leadership is divided about what the nuclear concessions should be on the table, the proposal would bypass this stalemate and move towards a faster deal between the two countries.However, lifting the blockade and ending the war would remove US President Trump’s leverage in any future talks to remove Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium and convince Tehran to suspend enrichment — two primary war objectives for Trump.Earlier on Sunday, Trump signaled in an interview with Fox News that he wants to continue the naval blockade that is choking off Iran’s oil exports, hoping it will get Tehran to cave over the next few weeks.“When you have vast amounts of oil pouring through your system … if for any reason this line is closed because you can’t put it into containers or ships … what happens is that line explodes from within … they say they only have about three days before that happens,” Trump said.Meanwhile, Trump is scheduled to hold a Situation Room meeting on Iran on Monday with his top national security and foreign policy team, according to three US officials.One source told Axios that Trump’s team would discuss the stalemate in the negotiations and potential next steps.
