Islamabad, Pakistan \u2013 United States President Donald Trump offered his most optimistic assessment yet of the situation with Iran on Thursday, stating from the White House South Lawn that a deal was \u201cvery close.\u201d He told reporters, \u201cWe\u2019re very close to making a deal with Iran,\u201d adding that they had \u201ctotally agreed to that [no nuclear weapons]. They\u2019ve agreed to almost everything.\u201d Trump further claimed that Iran had agreed to surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium and \u201cnuclear dust\u201d from underground facilities, suggesting a deal could be reached \u201cover the weekend.\u201d He even hinted at a personal visit to Islamabad if an agreement were signed there.<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, painted a contrasting picture. Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that messages were being exchanged via Pakistan but was unequivocal on the issue of enrichment, stating that Iran \u201cbased on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment.\u201d No Iranian official has publicly confirmed agreeing to surrender the country\u2019s enriched uranium stockpile, maintaining Tehran\u2019s long-standing position that enrichment is a sovereign right.<\/p>\n
Asif Durrani, a former Pakistani diplomat and ambassador to Tehran, dismissed the idea of a significant gap between the two sides. He told Al Jazeera, \u201cThere are no gaps, really. If Trump has read the NPT, he would know that every country has the right to access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.\u201d He emphasized that Iran has repeatedly stated it does not seek nuclear weapons but civil nuclear use within the frameworks of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) and the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action).<\/p>\n
Seyed Mojtaba Jalalzadeh, an international relations analyst, suggested the reality is more complex than public statements indicate. He advised against \u201csimplistic binaries such as \u2018one side is lying\u2019,\u201d explaining that the discrepancy reflects the \u201ccomplex, multilayered, and still unfinished nature of the negotiations.\u201d Jalalzadeh believes Trump\u2019s talk of \u201ctotal agreement\u201d likely represents a maximalist interpretation of the negotiating process. It remains unclear whether Trump\u2019s remarks signal genuine backchannel progress or are a pressure tactic ahead of the April 22 ceasefire deadline.<\/p>\n
Pakistan has emerged as a central mediator in these complex negotiations. On Thursday, Pakistan\u2019s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, engaged in high-level meetings in Tehran, including with Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and President Masoud Pezeshkian. Simultaneously, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pursued a parallel diplomatic track, meeting Gulf leaders before attending the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye.<\/p>\n
Both Washington and Tehran have acknowledged Pakistan\u2019s crucial role. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt praised the Pakistanis as \u201cincredible mediators\u201d and the \u201conly mediator in this negotiation,\u201d indicating that any further in-person talks would likely occur in Islamabad. However, Durrani cautioned that Pakistan\u2019s role has limits, primarily facilitating discussions and offering suggestions, with the ultimate outcome dependent on the political will of the two primary parties.<\/p>\n
Amidst diplomatic movements, Iran\u2019s hardline establishment has also conveyed strong messages. Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, expressed opposition to extending the ceasefire, stating Iran\u2019s preparedness for a \u201clong war.\u201d Major-General Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran\u2019s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, attributed the conflict to adversaries\u2019 \u201cmiscalculation\u201d of Iran\u2019s public support and military strength, reaffirming Iran\u2019s readiness for \u201ccomprehensive defense.\u201d Jalalzadeh interpreted this messaging as significant but not necessarily destabilizing, viewing it as a means of applying pressure and managing domestic opinion.<\/p>\n
On the US side, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reinforced Washington\u2019s coercive posture, stating that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue \u201cas long as it takes\u201d and that Washington remained \u201clocked and loaded\u201d on Iran\u2019s energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n
A potential breakthrough emerged on the Lebanon front, with Trump announcing a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Iran has consistently linked any agreement with the US to the situation in Lebanon, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf stating that a ceasefire in Lebanon \u201cis as important to Iran as a ceasefire in Iran itself.\u201d Grace Wermenbol, a former US national security official, noted this as an important first step but questioned its durability, drawing parallels to ceasefires in Gaza and Yemen.<\/p>\n
Initially, US objectives were sweeping, with Trump demanding \u201cUNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER\u201d and a 15-point proposal calling for an end to Iran\u2019s nuclear program, curbing missile capabilities, and halting support for regional proxy groups. However, discussions have since narrowed, focusing primarily on enrichment limits, monitoring mechanisms, and Iran\u2019s highly enriched uranium stockpile. The US has proposed a 20-year enrichment freeze, while Iran has countered with a five-year offer.<\/p>\n
Sahar Khan, an independent analyst, suggests this shift is less dramatic than it appears, largely returning to the JCPOA status quo. She explained that Iran might accept \u201czero enrichment\u201d if it means producing its own nuclear fuel and maintaining centrifuges, reducing dependence on external suppliers. Durrani attributed the shift to changing realities, suggesting Israel\u2019s \u201cshock\u201d and the US\u2019s realization of Iran\u2019s \u201cendurance\u201d have influenced the current approach, especially given US reluctance to deploy ground troops.<\/p>\n
As the April 22 deadline looms, the possibility of a second round of talks in Islamabad and the minimum understanding both sides might accept remain uncertain. Khan believes any agreement may hinge on \u201cdeliberate ambiguity,\u201d allowing both sides to claim a \u201cwin\u201d for their respective publics.<\/p>\n
#IranUSNegotiations #NuclearDeal #PakistanDiplomacy #DonaldTrump #IranNuclearProgram #MiddleEastPeace #CeasefireTalks #InternationalRelations #TehranWashington #DiplomaticEfforts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad, Pakistan \u2013 United States President Donald Trump offered his most optimistic assessment yet of the situation with Iran on Thursday, stating from the White House South Lawn that a deal was \u201cvery close.\u201d He told reporters, \u201cWe\u2019re very close to making a deal with Iran,\u201d adding that they had \u201ctotally agreed to that [no […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}