US reviews latest Iranian proposal to end war stalemate

Highlights:

• Latest Iranian plan would set aside nuclear issue until after war ends, Iranian sources say
• Rubio says Iran trying to buy time
• Araqchi visits Russia after trips to Pakistan and Oman
• Iran demands blockade lifted before any negotiations begin
• Oil prices rise to two-week high

US President Donald Trump discussed a new Iranian proposal to resolve the war with Tehran with his top national security aides on Monday, as the conflict remained in a stalemate and regional energy supplies were disrupted.

Iranian sources said the latest proposal would set aside discussion of Iran's nuclear programme until after the war ends and disputes over Gulf shipping are resolved. The approach is unlikely to satisfy Washington, which has said nuclear issues must be addressed from the outset.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he believed Iran was seeking to delay progress. "We can't let them get away with it," he said in an interview with Fox News.

"They're very good negotiators. They're very experienced negotiators. We have to ensure that any deal that is made, any agreement that is made is one that definitely prevents them from sprinting toward a nuclear weapon at any point," Rubio said.

Efforts to bridge differences have continued despite the absence of face-to-face talks, according to sources from mediator Pakistan, after Trump cancelled a planned visit by US representatives over the weekend.

Hopes of reviving diplomacy have dimmed since the US president scrapped a trip by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to Islamabad, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had travelled twice over the weekend.

Araqchi also visited Oman and on Monday went to Russia, where he met President Vladimir Putin and received support from a longstanding ally.

Oil prices rise again

With both sides still far apart on key issues, including Iran's nuclear ambitions and access to the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices rose on Monday to a two-week high.

Trump met his national security team earlier in the day. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said: "There was a discussion this morning that I don't want to get ahead of, and you'll hear directly from the president, I'm sure, on this topic very soon."

Araqchi told reporters in Russia that Trump had requested negotiations because the United States had not achieved its objectives.

Senior Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the proposal envisaged staged talks beginning with an end to the war and guarantees against its resumption. Subsequent steps would address the US blockade and the status of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran aims to reopen under its control.

Only later would negotiations turn to broader issues, including Iran's nuclear programme, with Tehran seeking recognition of its right to enrich uranium for what it says are peaceful purposes.

In Islamabad, streets reopened after a week-long lockdown imposed in anticipation of talks that did not take place. Pakistani officials said negotiations were continuing remotely, with no immediate plans for in-person meetings until both sides were closer to agreement.

Shipping disrupted

Although a ceasefire has paused US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on 28 Feb, no agreement has been reached to end a conflict that has killed thousands and disrupted global energy markets.

Iran has largely restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to its own vessels since the war began, while the United States has imposed a blockade on Iranian ships.

At least six tankers carrying Iranian oil have been forced to return to Iran in recent days, according to ship-tracking data. Iran's foreign ministry condemned US actions as "outright legalization of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas", in a post on X.

Traffic through the strait has dropped sharply, with only a handful of ships passing daily compared with more than 100 before the war, and none carrying oil for global markets.

Trump faces domestic pressure to end the conflict as approval ratings fall, while Iran's leadership has retained leverage through its ability to disrupt shipping in the strait, which normally handles about a fifth of global oil flows.

Fighting intensifies in Lebanon

Violence has also escalated in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes killed 14 people and wounded 37 in the south on Sunday, according to the health ministry, marking the deadliest day since a US-brokered ceasefire in mid-April.

Iran has said it will not engage in broader talks unless a ceasefire also holds in Lebanon, where Israel launched an offensive in March against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of violating the truce agreed with the Lebanese government in Washington and extended last week.