The Donald Trump administration has begun preliminary discussions about what peace talks with Iran might look like, Axios reported, citing two sources familiar with the discussions.
According to one US official, the United States is demanding that Iran make six commitments, including a complete halt to uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons development, a significant reduction in its missile program, and an end to funding armed groups such as Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthis. In addition, any agreement must include opening the Strait of Hormuz, Axios wrote.
Iran’s demands include a ceasefire, guarantees that war will not resume in the future, and compensation.
Another source from Axios says that reaching a settlement on returning the frozen assets to Iran is possible. He adds: “They call it compensation. We can call it the return of frozen funds.” But, according to him, “we must first reach the stage where such a mission arises at all.”
According to Axios, the Trump team is trying to answer two questions: who will be the point of contact in Iran and which country can act as a mediator.
In previous negotiations, the main point of contact was Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, but Trump’s advisers see him as more of a “transmission link” than a decision-maker. According to Axios sources, the White House is now trying to understand who is actually making the decisions in Iran and how to contact them.
Oman previously played the role of mediator in the negotiations, but the United States is looking for another country due to mutual mistrust with the Omani side. For the Trump administration, Qatar is the favorite, but according to sources, it is willing to “help behind the scenes” and does not want to play the role of the main official mediator.
Reuters reported last week that the Trump administration rejected efforts by US allies in the Middle East to negotiate an end to the war with Iran. Oman repeatedly tried to open a channel of communication, but the White House made it clear that it was not interested. Egypt also tried to resume diplomatic contacts between the United States and Iran.
In recent days, according to Axios, there have been no direct communications between the United States and Iran, but Egypt, Qatar and the United Kingdom have conveyed messages between the two parties. On March 20, Trump said he was considering “ending” the war, but US officials said the fighting was expected to continue for another two or three weeks.