Iran has made a new proposal for a deal to definitively end the war in the Middle East, officials in the region said on Monday, with Donald Trump claiming he had postponed new military strikes so talks could continue.
But while the US president has regularly used social media to threaten Tehran, and to claim that a peace deal was within reach, there has been no sign of an immediate breakthrough in the stalled negotiations to end the war.
A ceasefire has paused most violence after six weeks of US-Israeli airstrikes and Iranian retaliation, but there has been little progress since Trump said the ceasefire was “on life support”, with some Israeli media reports suggesting a resumption of hostilities is imminent.
In a post on Monday, Trump said he had been asked by the leaders of several Gulf countries to “hold off on our planned Military attack [on Iran], which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place”.
Trump claimed that the leaders of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia had approached Washington because of the chance of reaching a deal that would be “very acceptable” to the US, and preclude Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The US president said he had instructed military leaders that “we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice”.
The announcement came as Iran’s foreign military spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, claimed Pakistan has shared Tehran’s latest proposal with the US.
There were contradictory reports from Islamabad, which has been mediating between both sides. A Pakistani source appeared pessimistic, telling Reuters that Washington and Tehran “keep changing their goalposts” and that time was running out to find agreement.
Other regional officials said Iran had made or reiterated some concessions, including a long-term suspension of its nuclear programme and transfer of its highly enriched uranium to Russia, as well as a phased reopening of the strait of Hormuz.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency, citing an unnamed source close to the country’s negotiation team, reported on Monday that the US had agreed to waive sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports during the negotiation period.
There was no independent confirmation of the claims, and talks have been marked by a series of misleading statements made by Iran, the US and mediators to try to publicly frame the talks to their advantage.
Rhetoric on both sides has remained defiant in recent days. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened on Monday to impose permits on internet cables passing through the strait of Hormuz, while other officials have said the waterway would remain under Iranian “management”, implying Tehran would impose tolls on shipping, which Washington has said it cannot accept.
Baghaei said Tehran was prepared for all scenarios, telling a televised press conference: “As for their threats, rest assured that we are fully aware of how to respond appropriately to even the smallest mistake from the opposing side.”
Axios reported that Trump was expected to meet national security advisers on Tuesday to discuss options for resuming military action.
But speaking later on Monday at a White House event, Trump said there had been a “very positive development” and claimed a deal was near that would leave Iran without nuclear weapons, which Tehran denies pursuing.
“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out. If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I’d be very happy,” Trump said.
Though US-Israeli airstrikes have ceased and Iranian retaliation has been scaled back, drones have been launched from Iran towards Gulf countries hosting US military bases.
One drone strike caused a fire at a nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, officials there said on Sunday, and Saudi Arabia reported intercepting three drones.
Iran stepped up attacks on the UAE this month after Trump announced a naval mission to try to open the strait of Hormuz, which he suspended after 48 hours.
Analysts say the conflict is now deadlocked, with both sides facing significant pressure to bring the war to an end, but without sufficient incentives to make painful concessions necessary for a deal.
Trump, who faces midterm elections in November that could go badly for his Republican party, held talks with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, last week in Beijing without securing an indication from China that it would help resolve the conflict.
White House officials worry that Trump’s foreign policy gamble in Iran, and its effect on US fuel prices, may derail Republican chances of keeping control of Congress at a time when voters are more concerned with the cost of living than conflicts abroad.
Iran faces a deepening economic crisis and potential damage to its oil infrastructure. Inflation is soaring and some officials fear a surge in popular discontent with the radical regime.
The Human Rights Activists news agency (HRANA), a US-and Netherlands-based monitoring group, said it had documented at least 4,023 arrests in Iran between 28 February, when the war started, and 9 May.
Charges included espionage, threats to national security and communicating or sharing content related to the conflict with foreign media, it said.
There has been growing alarm over executions in Iran. Rights groups have said that since the start of the war, Iran has executed 26 men seen as “political prisoners” – 14 charged over January protests, one over 2022 demonstrations, and 11 accused of links to banned opposition groups.
Six men have been hanged by Iran on charges of spying for Israel since the war began, according to reports in Iranian official media.
HRANA said it had documented at least 3,636 fatalities, including 1,701 civilians, due to US-Israeli attacks on Iran in the war.
Israel carried out new airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Monday, Lebanese security sources and the state news agency said, while Hezbollah announced new attacks on Israeli forces, continuing the war in Lebanon despite the extension of a US-backed truce first announced by Trump on 16 April.
A 45-day ceasefire extension between Lebanon and Israel is now in effect after a third round of US-hosted talks.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse