By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Iran said on Thursday it was reviewing the latest American responses to its proposal for ending the war with the United States and Israel, even as Pakistani officials pressed forward with a burst of shuttle diplomacy aimed at salvaging negotiations that President Donald Trump described as teetering on the “borderline” between a deal and renewed U.S. strikes.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told Iranian state media late on Wednesday that Tehran had “received US views and are reviewing them,” according to the Nour News agency. The statement came hours after Trump, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, warned that the talks could collapse rapidly if Iran failed to provide what he called “a complete 100 percent good answers.” “Believe me, if we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go,” Trump said. He added that he was prepared to wait “a few days” but made clear that time was short. “It could be a few days, but it could go very quickly.”
The flurry of activity comes six weeks after a fragile cease-fire took effect in early April, halting direct combat in a conflict that began in late February with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. Since then, progress toward a permanent agreement has been halting at best. Pakistan has emerged as the only conduit for direct communication between Washington and Tehran, hosting the sole round of face-to-face talks in April. Those negotiations collapsed after Iran accused the United States of making “excessive demands.”
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for his second visit in less than a week. He met with President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials to convey messages from Pakistani leaders and discuss the latest U.S. position, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. Pezeshkian thanked Pakistan for its efforts at regional stability and emphasized the importance of continued coordination between Tehran and Islamabad.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir — who played a central role in the failed April talks — is scheduled to travel to Tehran for further “talks and consultations,” Iran’s ISNA news agency reported.
Iran submitted its latest proposal to the United States this week. According to Iranian accounts, the document largely restates the core elements of Tehran’s original 14-point plan. Those demands include Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, payment of reparations for war damage, the lifting of U.S. sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets, and the withdrawal of American troops from the region.
Iranian officials have made little effort to hide their distrust. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, described in Iranian media as Tehran’s top peace negotiator, posted an audio message on social media warning of “obvious and hidden moves by the enemy” that he said indicated American preparations for new attacks. Pezeshkian, in a post on X, said Tehran remained open to negotiations but described any attempt to force Iran to surrender through coercion as “nothing but an illusion.”
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi struck a similarly dual note on Wednesday, saying his ministry was prepared for either outcome. “Wherever it is necessary to fight, we will fight, and wherever it is necessary to negotiate, we will negotiate,” he said. Baghaei echoed that caution, telling reporters that Iran was pursuing talks “with seriousness and good faith, but it has strong and reasonable suspicion over America’s performance.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued its own blunt warning in a statement: “If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will extend beyond the region this time.”
The immediate stakes center on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments flowed before the war. Iran has kept the strait largely closed since fighting erupted, releasing a map this week that designated a “controlled maritime zone” requiring authorization from an Iranian-led authority for any transit. Tehran has said it would reopen the waterway to “friendly countries” that accept its terms — a move that could include access fees the United States has already rejected as unacceptable.
Despite the restrictions, limited shipping has resumed. Two Chinese supertankers carrying a combined 4 million barrels of oil exited the strait on Wednesday, and a South Korean tanker loaded with 2 million barrels of Kuwaiti crude was also transiting in coordination with Iranian authorities, according to shipping trackers. Lloyd’s List reported that at least 54 vessels passed through the strait last week — roughly double the previous week’s figure — though Iran said only 26 ships crossed in the most recent 24-hour period. Before the war, between 125 and 140 vessels moved through the strait daily.
The United States has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports since mid-April in an effort to pressure Tehran back to the table. U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that its forces had searched and redirected a vessel suspected of trying to reach an Iranian port — the latest of at least five boardings since the blockade began.
The economic fallout has been swift and global. Oil prices have surged, raising fears of renewed inflation and slower growth worldwide. In the United States, the spike in fuel costs has contributed to a drop in Trump’s approval ratings to near their lowest levels since he returned to the White House, adding political pressure as midterm elections approach in November.
Trump has offered conflicting signals in recent days. On Monday, he announced he had postponed planned strikes at the request of Gulf states to allow more time for talks. By Wednesday, he was once again emphasizing the threat of force while expressing a preference for an agreement that would “save a lot of time, energy and lives.”
The original U.S. and Israeli war aims, as stated by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, included curbing Iran’s support for regional militias, dismantling its nuclear program, destroying its missile capabilities and creating conditions for Iranians to overthrow their clerical rulers. Yet Iran has retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, its missile and drone forces, and its network of proxy groups. No significant new domestic opposition has emerged since the war began, despite the regime’s suppression of protests earlier this year.
Scott Lucas, a professor of U.S. and international politics at University College Dublin’s Clinton Institute, said the momentum in the current round of diplomacy appears to favor Iran. By centering its 14-point proposal on the Strait of Hormuz rather than the nuclear issue, Tehran shifted the focus to its strongest point of leverage, he said, forcing Washington onto the defensive.“
The U.S. does not want to find itself in a worse position than it was on February 26 when it walked away from talks,” Lucas said. He noted that curbs on Iran’s ballistic missile program and its ties to groups such as Hezbollah appear to have fallen off the agenda. “Eventually, I think a settlement will be reached,” he added, “but we’re dealing with a chaotic and unpredictable president [Trump], so a return to war cannot be ruled out.”
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