US President Donald Trump predicts a quick end to the war with Iran, while Tehran considers an American peace proposal that sources say would formally end the conflict but leave unresolved key US demands such as the suspension of Iran’s nuclear program and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, quoted by Iranian news agency ISNA, said Tehran would communicate its response, while Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for Parliament’s influential Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, described the proposal as “more of an American wish list than a reality.”
“They want to make a deal. and it’s very possible that we’ll make a deal,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, adding later that “it will all be over quickly.”
Trump has repeatedly emphasized the possibility of a deal to end the war that began on February 28, so far without success.
The two sides remain at odds over a range of complex issues, such as Iran’s nuclear ambitions and its control of the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war was responsible for a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
A Pakistani source and another source briefed on the mediation said an agreement was one page in that would formally end the conflict.
That would begin discussions to unblock navigation through the strait, lift U.S. sanctions against Iran and impose limits on Iran’s nuclear program, the sources said.
A senior Pakistani official involved in the negotiations told the Reuters news agency on Thursday (7) that negotiators were hopeful of reaching a deal, but noted that there were still differences between the sides.
“Our priority is for them to announce a permanent end to the war, and the rest of the issues can be resolved when direct negotiations resume,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
appeared to mock the news that indicated a rapprochement between the two sides, writing in English on social media that “Operation Trust Me, Brother, has failed.”
Qalibaf said such news amounted to US propaganda following the failed attempt to open the Strait of Hormuz.
No mention of key US demands
The source briefed on the mediation said the U.S. negotiations were being led by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. If both sides agreed to the preliminary agreement, that would begin the 30-day period for detailed negotiations aimed at a full agreement.
While the sources said the memo would not require concessions from either side initially, they did not mention several key demands made by Washington in the past and rejected by Iran, such as restrictions on Iran’s missile program and an end to support for allied militias in the Middle East.
The sources also did not mention Iran’s existing stockpile of more than 400 kg of uranium enriched (nearly) for nuclear weapons.
