What to Know About U.S.-Iran Negotiations
The United States is discussing ways to end hostilities with Iran, even as President Trump continues to threaten attacks and as the Pentagon dispatches more troops.
President Trump says the United States is talking to Iran about ways to end their hostilities, even as he threatens more attacks and the Pentagon dispatches more troops to the Middle East, and as Tehran publicly rejects his offer of a cease-fire.
Nearly a month after the United States and Israel launched their attack on Feb. 28, the war with Iran has drawn in countries across the region and set off an energy crisis that experts say is worse than the oil shocks of the 1970s. Pakistan has emerged as a interlocutor between Washington and Tehran, and is said to have passed a 15-point U.S. peace plan to Iran.
Here’s what we know about the negotiations so far.
What is the U.S. saying?
President Trump announced on Monday that the United States was negotiating with Iran over a “total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”
Speaking just before an initial deadline he had set for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, the shipping lane that has largely been closed amid Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, Mr. Trump sounded optimistic, saying, “We have major points of agreement.”
Mr. Trump has said the U.S. demands include an end to Iranian nuclear enrichment, which Tehran has refused in previous rounds of talks.
And the president has sent mixed signals. He has said that if Iran did not end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by Friday, he would order a massive bombardment of Iranian energy infrastructure. And the Pentagon has dispatched about 2,000 paratroopers to begin moving to the Middle East to give Mr. Trump additional military options.
What is Iran saying?
Iran on Wednesday publicly dismissed Mr. Trump’s proposal for a cease-fire, with a military spokesman saying Americans were “negotiating with yourselves.”
Privately, however, some Iranian officials had told The Times as late as Tuesday that the country was considering meeting with U.S. negotiators in Pakistan over the next week to discuss Mr. Trump’s proposal but that it would not entertain a temporary cease-fire. Those officials said that Iran did not want a momentary pause in the fighting, fearing that Israel and the United States would use that opportunity to beef up their forces before resuming strikes.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, described Mr. Trump’s announcement as an attempt to bring down runaway oil prices. And he sounded a note of defiance on Wednesday in response to the news of the new U.S. troop deployment, saying, “Do not test our resolve to defend our land.”
Press TV, Iran’s state-run English broadcaster, on Wednesday quoted an anonymous senior Iranian official as rejecting Mr. Trump’s proposal and said the official listed conditions that both the United States and Israel would find difficult to accept.
Those include reparations for war damages, recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions and a wider cease-fire for the region that protects Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group backed by Iran.
What about the Strait of Hormuz?
A critical issue in talks will be securing safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for oil and gas tankers from U.S. allies like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Iranian stranglehold on the critical waterway has threatened the flow of about one-fifth of the world’s annual oil supplies.
Iran has sent a letter to the United Nations’ maritime organization saying that “nonhostile” ships could pass safely through the strait, meaning vessels that “neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran” nor belong to the United States or Israel.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said the Iranians had offered him a “very big present” on the strait, without elaborating. It was not clear if Mr. Trump’s comments were referring to the Iranian letter.
Who will negotiate for the U.S.?
Mr. Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance were engaging in the talks with Iran. Steve Witkoff, one of Mr. Trump’s top negotiators, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, were also involved in the effort, he added.
Mr. Kushner and Mr. Witkoff have been central to U.S. efforts to resolve at least two other major conflicts: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. They were also negotiating with Iran before the war began last month; Mr. Witkoff has said that Iranian intransigence in those talks led Mr. Trump to launch the war.
Who will speak for Iran?
It is far less clear who could handle talks on the Iranian side.
Much of Iran’s leadership was killed in the opening blow of the U.S.-Israeli air assault, including the longtime autocratic ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. That has created some confusion about who is calling the shots in the country.
The Pakistani military chief of staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, has discussed peace efforts with Mr. Ghalibaf, the Iranian parliamentary speaker, according to Iranian and Pakistani officials.
But Iran may have trouble responding quickly to American outreach. Senior Iranian officials have been struggling to communicate internally and they worry that Israel could bomb them if they meet in person, the officials added.
Mr. Trump did not identify his Iranian interlocutor except to say that it was a “top guy.” He also said it was not Ayatollah Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as the supreme leader of Iran but has not shown his face since his ascension earlier this month.
Can they reach a deal?
The 15-point U.S. plan addresses Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, as well as the Strait of Hormuz, The New York Times has reported.
The Trump administration is eager to find a favorable resolution to the conflict, which has battered the Iranian government but failed to topple it; sent oil and gas prices skyrocketing; and prompted criticism from Mr. Trump’s right-wing base.
But it is still difficult to see a diplomatic offramp without either the United States or Iran backing away from one of their red lines. Iran has long insisted on its sovereign right to enrich uranium to high levels — contradicting a core U.S. demand — even as it has denied seeking a bomb.
What is Israel saying?
It was unclear whether a possible American-Iranian cease-fire would bind Israel, which has been striking Iran alongside the United States and has also escalated attacks against the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said in response to Mr. Trump’s remarks that Israel “will safeguard our vital interests under all circumstances.”
On Wednesday, Israel’s military said that it had launched a new wave of strikes targeting government infrastructure in Tehran and that it was intercepting Iranian missiles launched toward Israel.
==========================================
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
Adam Rasgon is a reporter for The Times in Jerusalem, covering Israeli and Palestinian affairs.