U.S.-Iran Talks in Deadlock as Tehran Proposes Nuclear Delay

In the weeks after the Trump administration conducted strikes on February 28, Iran responded with a wave of attacks that struck dozens of targets across U.S. military bases in seven Middle Eastern countries. (AI generated image)

HOME I I HI TECH NEWS I SPORTS I CONTACT

U.S.-Iran Talks in Deadlock as Tehran Proposes Nuclear Delay

Daoud Al-Jaber - Middle East Affairs Analysis
Tell Us Worldwide News Network

WASHINGTON / TEHRAN / ISLAMABAD — Iran has put forward a new proposal to the United States that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bring the war to an end — but with nuclear negotiations explicitly postponed to a later stage. The proposal was relayed through Pakistan, which has been serving as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran. The diplomacy is at a stalemate, and the Iranian leadership is reported to be internally divided over what nuclear concessions should even be on the table. The new offer appears designed to sidestep that division by shelving the nuclear issue for now.

However, U.S. officials have expressed concern that accepting the proposal could undermine Washington's negotiating position. Accepting such a deal could fast-track an end to the war, but it would eliminate much of the Trump administration's current leverage over Iran on nuclear matters — an issue President Trump has previously described as "the only point that really mattered."

The U.S. position has been that Iran must conduct zero enrichment, a demand Iran has rejected on multiple occasions. Negotiations have also raised proposals for another country, such as Russia, to take custody of Iran's enriched uranium, but the Iranian foreign ministry has said the uranium will under no circumstances be transferred anywhere. Iran refuses to relinquish its nuclear programme, which it insists is for peaceful purposes only. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has made clear his country will not enter what he called "imposed negotiations" under threats or a naval blockade.

Hopes of talks in the Pakistani capital over the weekend dissipated after President Trump cancelled a planned visit by his envoys. Trump subsequently told Fox News that Iran already knew what was required, saying they cannot have a nuclear weapon and that otherwise there is no reason to meet. Trump also signaled he wants to maintain the naval blockade choking off Iran's oil exports, hoping it will force Tehran to capitulate within weeks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, for his part, blamed Washington for the breakdown, saying that excessive demands from U.S. negotiators caused the previous round of talks to fail despite some progress having been made.

Amid the impasse, Iran's top diplomat has been engaged in an intensive round of regional outreach. Araghchi visited Islamabad twice in two days, held talks in Muscat, Oman, and then met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg — a 72-hour diplomatic sprint apparently aimed at securing broader regional support for Tehran's negotiating position. Discussions in Muscat focused on the Strait of Hormuz, regional security guarantees, and the framework for a potential settlement, with nuclear issues set aside for a later stage.

Analysts say Tehran is drawing lessons from the collapse of the 2015 nuclear deal. When Trump withdrew from the agreement during his first term in 2018, Iran was left without regional backing and without a guarantor capable of holding Washington to its commitments — a vulnerability Tehran appears determined not to repeat.

Trump's national security team is now reviewing the Iranian peace plan to halt the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The White House has kept its public statements measured, with spokesperson Olivia Wales saying the U.S. will only make a deal that puts the American people first and will never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Despite the breakdown in direct engagement, diplomacy continues via indirect channels, and the ceasefire between the two sides is still largely holding — indicating that neither side is eager for an immediate return to full-scale hostilities. Experts caution that the current deadlock reflects a slowdown rather than a total collapse, pointing to historical precedent as evidence that major diplomatic breakthroughs are rarely linear.

For now, the world watches as both sides maneuver, with the fate of Iran's nuclear programme, control of one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints, and the broader stability of the Middle East hanging in the balance.