Khaberni - A US official said that President Donald Trump is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal to settle the ongoing war of two months, which has weakened hopes for a resolution to the conflict that has affected the flow of energy supplies, fueled inflation, and resulted in thousands of deaths.
The latest Iranian proposal calls for delaying discussions on the Iranian nuclear program until after the war ends and maritime shipping disputes in the Gulf are resolved.
It is unlikely that the proposal will satisfy Washington, which insists on addressing nuclear issues from the outset. A US official familiar with Trump's meeting on Monday with his advisors, who refused to disclose his identity, said that the president is unhappy with the Iranian proposal for this reason.
White House spokeswoman Olivia Wells said the United States "will not negotiate through the press" and "is clear about our red lines" as the Trump administration seeks to end the war against Iran that it started in February with Israel.
A previous agreement reached in 2015 between Iran and several other countries, including the United States, significantly restrained Iran's nuclear program, which Iran has always maintained is for peaceful and civilian purposes. However, that agreement collapsed when Trump unilaterally withdrew from it during his first term.
Hopes for reviving peace efforts diminished when Trump canceled visits by his envoys, Steve Whitcov and Jared Kushner, to Islamabad, which Iraqchi visited twice in succession at the beginning of the week.
Iraqchi also visited Oman and traveled on Monday to Russia, where he met with President Vladimir Putin and received words of support from a longtime ally.
Oil prices climb again
As the apparent distancing between the warring parties continues, oil prices have risen again, continuing their gains in early Asian trading on Tuesday.
Fouad Razaqzada, a market analyst at City Index and Forex.com, said in a note "For oil traders, it's not the rhetoric that matters anymore, but the actual flow of crude through the Strait of Hormuz, and at the moment, this flow remains limited."
Ship tracking data shows that at least six tankers loaded with Iranian oil were forced to return to Iran due to American control in the past few days, underscoring the impact of the war on navigation.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry denounced the American actions in capturing oil tankers associated with Iran on social media, describing them as "an outright legalization of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas."
Before the war, between 125 and 140 ships passed through the strait daily, but ship tracking data from the company (Kepler) and satellite analysis from (Cinmax) indicate that only seven ships passed through it on Monday, and none of them were carrying oil to the global market.
Facing declining popularity, Trump is under domestic pressure to end a war for which he has not been consistent in the justifications he has presented to the American public for initiating it.
Iraqchi told reporters in Russia that Trump has requested negotiations because the United States has not achieved any of its goals.
Senior Iranian sources, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that the proposal Iraqchi presented to Islamabad at the beginning of the week includes phased negotiations that do not involve the nuclear issue initially.
The first step is to end the American-Israeli war on Iran and provide guarantees that Washington will not reignite it.
Negotiators will then work on lifting the American blockade on Iranian ports and determining the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran seeks to remain under its control after it is reopened.
Only then will the talks address other issues, including the longstanding dispute over the Iranian nuclear program.
Tehran still seeks to gain some form of American recognition of its right to enrich uranium.
