White House Says Trump Discussing Iranian Proposal With Aides

The White House said US officials are discussing Iran’s latest proposal but maintained red lines on any deal to end the eight-week war, including preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that President Donald Trump had convened a meeting of national security officials earlier in the day to discuss the Iranian proposal. 

“His red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear,” she said, adding that Trump would address the matter “very soon.”

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The comments followed reports that Tehran proposed an interim deal whereby it reopens the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Washington ending its blockade of Iranian ports. That proposal would also postpone more thorny negotiations over the country’s nuclear program.

Separately, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told President Vladimir Putin that Tehran is committed to strengthening the country’s partnership with Russia.

Araghchi said on a visit to Russia that the Iranian people are able to resist “US aggression and will be able to overcome it,” Iran state-owned Nour News said on Monday. 

Iranian media said Sunday that Araghchi would convey to mediator Pakistan that the conflict could end if the Americans lift their naval blockade, agree to a new legal framework for traffic going through the strait and guarantee there will be no future military action against the Islamic Republic.

Iran told Pakistan that negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program — a longer-standing issue — could be dealt with later, Axios reported, citing a US official and two people with knowledge of the matter.

Brent crude prices rose for a sixth straight session to more than $108 a barrel by 1:44 p.m. in New York. US oil climbed above $96 a barrel.

Oil traders added to bullish trades after hopes for peace talks over the past weekend were dashed. Investors remain largely focused on a growing supply crunch created by the virtual standstill of flows through the strait.

Foreign leaders have expressed frustration over the prolonged conflict. 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told a group of students the US is being “humiliated” by Iranian leaders and that he can’t figure out what exit the Americans are pursuing. 

An interim deal would echo what many Middle East analysts have said for weeks — that the US and Iran should reopen the strait as soon as possible to lower fuel prices and ease pressure on the global economy, while leaving issues such as Iran’s nuclear program for later talks. Some Persian Gulf Arab and European leaders believe that such negotiations will take at least six months, Bloomberg has reported.

Trump, however, has indicated that Iran’s atomic program must be resolved as part of any agreement and that the blockade will stay in place until then. The White House has said the blockade is putting pressure on Iran to make concessions by choking off its oil exports.

Here is more on the US-Iran talks:

With assistance from John Bowker and Paul Wallace.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.