US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is "not satisfied" with a new Iranian negotiating proposal, as peace talks between the two sides remain frozen despite a weeks-long ceasefire. The announcement comes as Washington debates whether the president has exceeded a deadline to seek congressional approval for the conflict.
Iran delivered the text of its proposal to mediator Pakistan on Thursday evening, according to the IRNA news agency, though no details of its contents were disclosed. Trump told reporters that he blames the stalled talks on "tremendous discord" within Iran's leadership.
"Do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever or do we want to try and make a deal? I mean, those are the options," Trump said when asked about next steps, adding he would "prefer not" to take the first option "on a human basis."
Ceasefire holds but diplomacy falters
The war, launched by the United States and Israel with a wave of surprise strikes on 28 February, has been on hold since 8 April. Only one failed round of direct talks has taken place between Iranian and US representatives. In the meantime, Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off vast amounts of oil, gas and fertiliser from the world economy, while the US has imposed a counterblockade on Iranian ports.
Despite the failure to negotiate an end to the war, the ceasefire has held. On Friday, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said "the Islamic Republic has never shied away from negotiations," but added that "we certainly do not accept imposition," though Tehran did not want a return to war.
The White House has declined to comment on the details of the new Iranian proposal. However, the news site Axios reported that US envoy Steve Witkoff earlier this week had submitted amendments to a previous proposal seeking to reinject the issue of Tehran's nuclear programme into the negotiations. Citing a source familiar with the matter, Axios said the amendments included a demand that Iran not try to move enriched uranium out of sites bombed during a brief war last year, or resume any activity there while talks continue.
Optimism after news of the Iranian proposal sent oil prices falling by nearly 5% for US benchmark West Texas Intermediate. However, prices are still roughly 50% above their pre-war levels as traders confront the prolonged closure of Hormuz.
European diplomacy and economic fallout
An EU official said that the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had spoken with Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi by phone on Friday about diplomatic efforts to reopen the strait. The European Union has been pushing for a resolution to the crisis, which has disrupted global energy markets and exacerbated inflationary pressures across the continent.
Meanwhile, Washington is gripped by a legalistic debate over whether Trump has passed a deadline for requesting congressional approval for his war with Iran. Administration officials have insisted that the ceasefire means the clock is paused on a 60-day deadline requiring the president to seek war powers authorisation from Congress. Trump echoed that rationale on Friday, insisting the United States was "in the midst of a big victory."
Trump is under increasing domestic pressure over the war, with inflation spiking, no clear victory in sight and mid-term elections due in November. The economic consequences of the war are also beginning to bite in Iran, where inflation has risen past 50% in recent weeks. The US imposed new sanctions on three Iranian foreign currency exchange firms on Friday, while the Treasury warned others that paying a "toll" to Tehran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz could trigger sanctions as well.
The crisis has also strained transatlantic relations, with Trump threatening troop cuts in European countries that have opposed his approach. The EU must engage the US as an equal partner, not a junior ally, as the bloc navigates this complex geopolitical landscape.
