Peace negotiators are pressing Iran to make a concession on its nuclear program to revive ceasefire talks with the U.S. after President Trump rejected Tehran’s truce proposal, in a race to stop the conflict from escalating back into all-out war.
Trump has tried to reframe the conflict around his original war goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and redirect talks away from unlocking the Strait of Hormuz from Iran’s grip. “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. From there, many Middle East officials believe Trump will be less constrained by electoral politics and will be more willing to use force, and less likely to make a deal on Iran’s terms.
Mediators involved in the talks said it is a long-shot bid to get Iran to placate Trump on the issue he cares about most. In a speech to the United Nations last week, Trump said he was weighing whether to “annihilate” Iran’s government to keep it from gaining a nuclear bomb. Iranian leaders are confident that they can withstand a long-term U.S. blockade or a renewed bombing campaign from the Americans, said Middle East government officials who speak with Tehran regularly. The officials said Iranian power is now concentrated in the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a paramilitary and economic force that has long taken a hard line against compromise with the West. “We are fully prepared for the war to resume,” Araghchi said on NBC’s “Meet the Press. Araghchi stayed in New York over the weekend after the General Assembly for additional talks, but Arab mediators said Iran hasn’t compromised at all since Trump rejected Tehran’s ceasefire plan. Karim said Iran’s increasingly hard-line government believes Trump and his Republican Party will lose the midterm elections. A high-level official with a Middle East government involved in peace talks said Iran would be willing to make compromises on its nuclear program and was close to doing so earlier this year in talks with Vice President JD Vance. However, the official said Iran would need to be given explicit assurances that Israel wouldn’t attack again after any agreement between Washington and Tehran.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was open to negotiations but said Tehran would respond to any aggression in kind.
