Tehran Receives US Proposal... Disagreement Over Step Sequencing
Amid ongoing diplomatic communications and intensive mediator efforts to prioritize diplomatic channels to end the war, the Iranian government announced on Wednesday that Tehran had received a US proposal. Meanwhile, an official familiar with the talks revealed that the main disagreement between the two sides concerns the sequencing of steps, not the elements of the seven-day plan.
Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani stated that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed the cabinet during its meeting of receiving the proposal, while presenting a report on his visit to New York.
Mohajerani wrote on the “X” platform that Araghchi provided “a report on his trip to New York and a series of meetings and consultations held, including presenting Iran’s proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz through mediators in the United States.”
She added that the Iranian delegation held several meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, noting that “the diplomatic move to find an exit in foreign policy is being pursued seriously,” before concluding that Araghchi “announced the receipt of the US proposal,” without disclosing its contents.
In this context, President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed that his country would make every effort to translate the memorandum of understanding between Islamabad and Washington into a tangible reality, stressing that Tehran had not retreated from its principles in any clause of the memorandum.
Before Tehran’s confirmation, Reuters reported that an official familiar with the talks said Araghchi and his team met Qatari mediators in Doha on Tuesday evening, and that the minister received the US response to a proposed confidence-building plan over seven days, to be discussed in Tehran the following day.
The official said the document under negotiation outlines a seven-day confidence-building plan and a return to an enhanced version of the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Iran in June, adding that the main disagreement concerns the sequence of the plan’s steps, not its elements.
Araghchi had previously stated that Qatari mediators had put forward “ideas on how to pave the way for achieving Iran’s conditions,” emphasizing that they would convey them to the US side before returning with a final response.
Upon arriving in Tehran, he added that the messages exchanged between Qatari and Pakistani mediators “have always been in place,” but had “taken a more serious form” following Iran’s proposal, noting that his country’s positions “had not changed.”
In Washington, US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday evening: “I don’t know if they will surrender after that, but they will surrender,” adding that the Iranians “are not doing well,” and reiterating that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon and that the war would end soon.
At the same time, Axios reported, citing three informed sources, that Qatari mediator efforts had not achieved significant progress on the file, with both sides sticking to their positions, and that the deadlock reinforced among both parties the belief that a renewed military confrontation had become more likely.
One source said, “Things are stuck. The Iranians are asking for things the US cannot accept, and the US believes it is winning, so it sees no need to make concessions.”
According to Axios, Qatari mediator Ali Al-Duwaikhi met with Araghchi and his team in New York last Monday for several hours, discussing a two-page Qatari compromise proposal aimed at addressing Iran’s demand for the lifting of the US naval blockade and the US demand for nuclear concessions.
Al-Duwaikhi traveled to Washington that same evening, where he held talks with Jared Kushner and other US officials, with Vice President JD Vance participating in a short part of the meeting.
The website reported that U.S. officials told the media on Monday morning that the talks were “positive and constructive,” and that Iran had shown “flexibility on nuclear issues.” They said Trump was prepared to ease sanctions in exchange for concrete steps, but Trump issued a denial hours later, while Qatari officials were still at the White House.
Axios added that other regional mediators, including Pakistan and Egypt, urged Iran to make nuclear concessions, but Iranians said they would not discuss such matters until Washington agreed to return to the June memorandum.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department announced on Tuesday evening a reward of up to $15 million for information that could help uncover financial networks linked to senior officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace Force.
A post on the X platform stated, “Somewhere between Iran’s missiles, its drones, and its victims, there is a financial trail. Help us disrupt it,” noting that the IRGC Aerospace Force is involved in developing and deploying Iranian missiles and drones, as well as procuring equipment for the Revolutionary Guard.
