US, Iran expected to hold separate talks with mediators as pressure ramps on Tehran

Mediators are expected to hold separate talks with the United States and Iran on Monday or Tuesday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Qatari mediators in the US, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

The talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal Iran presented on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the official said.

According to The Wall Street Journal, mediators have been pressuring Iran to compromise on its nuclear program in order to jumpstart the talks, after US President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s leaders, however, say they can endure the US pressure, including its blockade or potential renewed airstrikes, according to government officials in the region who are in contact with Iran and spoke to the Journal. Arab sources said Iran also wants the US to compromise so that talks can advance.

The conflict began when the US and Israel launched strikes in February to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities and distance the threats posed by its nuclear and missile program.

Along with Tehran’s nuclear program, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has worked to block since the start of the war, has become the focus of diplomatic efforts. Washington responded with a blockade of Iranian ports after Tehran placed a chokehold on the waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz is a strategic waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas flowed before the war. The disruption to shipping through the strait has caused a crippling supply crisis that has jacked up costs around the world.

Oil prices fell more than two percent on Friday following news of Iran’s offer, but after Trump rejected the Islamic Republic’s demands on Saturday, oil prices spiked on Monday.

Brent crude oil surged more than three percent back above $107 a barrel.

Axios also reported on Sunday that mediators were pushing to get the two sides to talk to each other, less than a week after discussions took place between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Iran’s demands  included a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, where its ally terrorist organization Hezbollah is regularly bombarded by Israel. Iran also wants its foreign assets unfrozen, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector, and an end to the US naval blockade.

On Monday, Iranian state media reported that Iran’s delegation to the UN General Assembly said it had no talks planned with the US.

“Iran’s delegation in New York has no plans for negotiations with the United States,” said Iran’s official IRNA news agency, citing an unnamed source close to the group.

“Iran’s views and positions were conveyed clearly and explicitly to the US side… via a Qatari mediator,” IRNA said, adding that the Iranian delegation would return to Tehran on Tuesday.

Trump told Axios on Sunday that he expected talks to resume soon.