Iran offers US deal to reopen strait but postpone nuclear talks

Iran gave the US a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage, according to a US official and two sources with knowledge, Report informs via Axios.

The crisis in the negotiations between the US and Iran deepened over the weekend after a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Pakistan ended with no progress.

The White House had announced Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would be meeting Araghchi in Islamabad, but the Iranians were noncommittal. Trump told Axios the Iranian position led him to cancel that trip.

Araghchi raised the plan to bypass the nuclear issue during his meetings in Islamabad, two sources with knowledge said.

On Sunday, Araghchi held talks with Omani officials in Muscat that focused on the Strait of Hormuz, then went back to Islamabad for a second round of talks.

On Monday, Araghchi was expected to travel to Moscow and meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

One source said Araghchi made it clear to the Pakistani, Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari mediators over the weekend that there's no consensus inside the Iranian leadership about how to address the US demands. The US wants Iran to suspend uranium enrichment for at least a decade and remove its enriched uranium from the country.

The new proposal, given to the US via the Pakistani mediators, focuses on solving the crisis over the strait and the US blockade first.

As part of that, the ceasefire would be extended for a long period or the parties would agree on a permanent end to the war.

According to the proposal, the nuclear negotiations would only start at a later stage, after the strait was open and the blockade lifted.

The White House has received the proposal, but it's unclear whether the US is willing to explore it.

"These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the US will not negotiate through the press. As the president has said, the United States holds the cards and will only make a deal that puts the American people first, never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon," White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Axios.