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Iran is still seeking a peace deal with the US after inconclusive talks at the weekend, President Donald Trump said on Monday, as American naval forces imposed a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to increase pressure on Tehran.
Mr Trump said at the White House that “we’ve been called this morning by the right people, and they want to work a deal”, without elaborating. Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation in Pakistan, said there had been “a lot of progress" in the negotiations, but the Iranian side had to go back to Tehran to “actually get approval for the terms that we had set”.
“We did make some progress in the negotiations,” he told Fox News. The question of holding further talks was “best put to the Iranians, because the ball really is in their court”, he added.
The US proposed a 20-year suspension of nuclear activity, while Iran countered with a plan to halt it for up to five years, similar to an offer made in February, The New York Times quoted sources as saying.
One of Washington's main objectives in the talks was to reach an agreement that ensures Iran does not develop nuclear weapons. Tehran's demands included the right to continue its nuclear programme, the lifting of US and UN sanctions, the return of frozen assets, reparations for damage caused by US-Israeli strikes and formal recognition of its control over the strait – a key shipping route for global energy supplies from the Middle East.
"The big question from here on out is whether the Iranians will have enough flexibility, whether the Iranians will accept the critical things that we need to see in order for things to get done," Mr Vance said.
“We must have the enriched material out of Iran. We must have their conclusive commitment to not develop a nuclear weapon. If the Iranians are willing to meet us there, then this can be a very, very good deal for both countries.”
Iran has said its nuclear programme was for civilian purposes and insisted it would not give it up.
The US naval blockade, announced after the talks in Pakistan, is directed at vessels sailing to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas. Tehran called it “an act of piracy” – despite imposing its own blockade on the narrow waterway after the war began on February 28.
The US operation is expected to cut off about $150 million a day in oil revenue that Tehran relied on to finance its war and keep its economy afloat. About 20 per cent of global energy supplies pass through the strait and its closure during the conflict has caused prices to soar.
Despite the US blockade, a Chinese-owned tanker passed through the strait on Tuesday morning, shipping data on LSEG, Marine Traffic and Kpler showed. The Rich Starry was blacklisted by the US in 2023 for helping Tehran evade energy sanctions.
