Report: Some progress in US-Iran talks but agreement still a long shot

Some progress has been made in negotiations between the US and Iran, but an agreement still looks to be a long shot, the Axios news site reports.

The site says the assessment is according to a US official, an Israeli official and two other sources who have knowledge of the discussions.

A US official tells the outlet that US President Donald Trump’s administration was originally questioning “can we get there?,” but is now asking “can we get there by 8 o’clock tonight?” The timeframe is a reference to the deadline imposed by the US president.

“The last proposal we got wasn’t really what we wanted, but it was a lot better than we expected,” a US official says. A source adds that mediators then worked with Tehran on amendments.

“There’s an appetite for more talks. Last week it was Geneva, this week it could be Islamabad,” a US official says.

Trump threatened earlier that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran doesn’t agree to his demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz in the coming hours.

While the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran has ended direct talks with the US, Axios says it is unable to confirm that Tehran has ended discussions.