Since several senior Iranian political and military figures were killed in US-Israeli strikes, Iran no longer has a single, undisputed clerical arbiter at the pinnacle of power, which may be hardening Tehran’s negotiating stance.
The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war, and the elevation of his wounded son, Mojtaba, to replace him as supreme leader, has handed more power to hardline commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iranian officials and analysts say.
Senior Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the proposal carried by Araqchi to Islamabad over the weekend envisioned talks in stages.
A first step would require ending the war and providing guarantees the US cannot restart it. Then negotiators would resolve the US Navy’s blockade of Iran‘s trade by sea and the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran aims to reopen under its control.
Only then would talks look at other issues, including the longstanding dispute over Iran‘s nuclear programme, with Iran seeking US acknowledgement of its right to enrich uranium.
That would bear echoes of Iran‘s 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other powers, which had sharply curtailed Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Trump unilaterally withdrew from that accord in his first term. Now he faces domestic pressure to end a war for which he has given the US public shifting rationales.
Trump’s approval rating fell to the lowest level of his current term, as Americans increasingly soured on his handling of the cost of living and the unpopular war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The poll showed 34 per cent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance, down from 36 per cent in the prior survey.
In the latest sign of strains between Trump and European allies, he said in a social media post that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz “doesn’t know what he’s talking about” regarding Iran.
Merz said on Monday that Iran‘s leadership was humiliating the US and that he did not see what exit strategy the Trump administration was pursuing.
But Britain’s King Charles told the US Congress on Tuesday that despite uncertainty and conflict in Europe and the Middle East, the UK and the US, “whatever our differences”, will always be staunch allies united in defending democracy. He spoke at a time of deep divisions between the two long-time partners over the war with Iran.