DUBAI/WASHINGTON, Apr 28 — US President Donald Trump is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal on resolving the two-month war, a US official said, dampening hopes for a resolution to the conflict that has disrupted energy supplies, fuelled inflation and killed thousands.
Iran’s latest proposal would set aside discussions on its nuclear programme until the war is ended and disputes over shipping from the Gulf are resolved.
That is unlikely to satisfy the US, which says nuclear issues must be addressed from the outset, and Trump was reportedly unhappy with Iran’s proposal for that reason, a US official briefed on the president’s Monday meeting with his advisers said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said the US “will not negotiate through the press” and has “been clear about our red lines” as the Trump administration looks to end the war against Iran it began in February alongside Israel.
A previous agreement in 2015 between Iran and several other countries, including the US, sharply curtailed Iran’s nuclear programme, which Tehran has long maintained is for peaceful civilian purposes. However, the deal collapsed after Trump unilaterally withdrew from it during his first term in office.
Hopes of reviving peace efforts have receded since the US president cancelled a planned visit last weekend by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to Islamabad, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi shuttled in and out twice over the weekend.
Araqchi also visited Oman and yesterday travelled to Russia, where he met President Vladimir Putin and received expressions of support from a long-standing ally.
Oil prices rise again
With the warring sides still appearing far apart, oil prices resumed their upward trend, extending gains in early Asia trade today.
“For oil traders, it’s not the rhetoric that matters any more, but the actual physical flow of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and right now, that flow remains constrained,” said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com, in a note.
At least six tankers loaded with Iranian oil have been forced back to Iran by the US blockade in recent days, ship-tracking data showed, underscoring the war’s impact on traffic.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned US seizures of Iran-linked tankers as the “outright legalisation of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas” in a social media post.
Between 125 and 140 ships usually passed through the strait daily before the war, but only seven have done so in the past day, according to Kpler ship-tracking data and satellite analysis from SynMax, with none carrying oil bound for the global market.
Iran’s terms
With his approval ratings falling, Trump faces domestic pressure to end a war for which he has given the US public shifting rationales.
Araqchi told reporters in Russia that Trump had requested negotiations because the US has not achieved any of its objectives.
Senior Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the proposal carried by Araqchi to Islamabad over the weekend envisaged talks in stages, with the nuclear issue to be set aside at the start.
A first step would require ending the US-Israeli war on Iran and providing guarantees that the US cannot restart it. Negotiators would then address the US Navy’s blockade of Iran’s maritime trade and the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran aims to reopen under its control.
Only then would talks turn to other issues, including the long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme, with Tehran still seeking some form of US acknowledgment of its right to enrich uranium.
