Arab News | Trump expects more Iran talks this week: Axios

LONDON: President Donald Trump told Axios on Sunday that he expects US negotiators to hold additional talks with Iran this week, as Qatari mediators press both sides to narrow wide differences over the Strait of Hormuz, US naval restrictions and Iran’s nuclear program.

“I expect more talks with Iran (this week),” Trump told Axios in a phone interview. “They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make. It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago. They overplayed their hand.”

Two regional sources confirmed to Axios that another round of indirect US-Iran talks could take place as early as Monday. It remained unclear, however, whether the sides could bridge their differences.

Trump’s comments came a day after he said he had rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week and resume nuclear negotiations in exchange for lifting the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Qatar and other regional mediators have been reportedly trying to revive diplomacy, but US and Iranian positions remain far apart. Iran has sought to focus talks on reopening the strait and ending the naval blockade, while the Trump administration has demanded nuclear concessions from Tehran.

Trump also told Axios on Sunday that he was “always” considering the possibility of resuming military strikes against Iran.

At the same time, he said the US military was facilitating significant oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump said “more than 20 million barrels” of oil had passed through the waterway over the weekend, the largest volume since the war began.

A US defense official confirmed Trump’s statement, telling Axios that 22 million barrels of oil were exported through the strait on Friday night.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held a new round of indirect negotiations last Tuesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.

Qatari officials participated in the talks, shuttling messages between the US and Iranian delegations, according to media reports. Araghchi presented Witkoff and Kushner with Iran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming negotiations over its nuclear program.

Under Tehran’s proposal, Iran would reopen the strait and restart nuclear talks within a week if the US lifted its naval blockade, removed sanctions on Iranian oil sales and restored a regional ceasefire.

Trump rejected the proposal on Saturday, telling reporters at the White House that it was not “acceptable.” He said Tehran wanted an agreement to reopen the strait because “they’re losing so badly.”

Still, Qatari officials have continued shuttle diplomacy in search of a compromise, a US official and two regional sources told Axios.

Qatar’s prime minister met on Thursday in New York with Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, to discuss the potential agreement. Senior Qatari officials later met with Witkoff and briefed him on the discussion, according to media reports.

A regional source familiar with the indirect negotiations said Qatari mediators had discussed Iran’s original proposal with both parties and presented a compromise text for review, according to Axios. Over the weekend, the mediators continued separate discussions with US and Iranian negotiators over potential changes.

Qatari mediators were expected to meet separately with Araghchi and Witkoff as early as Monday.

Araghchi on Saturday acknowledged Trump’s rejection in a Telegram post but said Iran would await a “definitive” US response through mediators.

In an interview with NBC on Sunday, Araghchi said Iran still sought a diplomatic outcome despite Trump’s rejection of the proposal. He dismissed the idea that US midterm elections were affecting Tehran’s calculations.

“We only care about our national interests. We are ready for negotiations,” Araghchi said. “Although we heard from President Trump that he’s rejecting this deal … we are still waiting for an official response through the mediators.”