Diplomacy

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Tehran had offered Washington a “very significant prize” related to oil and gas, expressing optimism that a deal to end the conflict could be possible.

Pakistan has offered to host talks between the United States and Iran aimed at ending a war that has rattled global energy markets. Here’s why Islamabad is involved—and whether it could work.

Ambiguous reports of contacts between US and Iranian officials may reflect a tactical effort to calm markets, shape global opinion and deepen uncertainty inside a state already gripped by paranoia, analysts and former US officials told Iran International.

Iran and Qatar moved into open confrontation on Wednesday after an Israeli strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure set off a chain of retaliation across the Persian Gulf, pulling new actors into the conflict.

President Donald Trump said the United States remains in contact with Iran but voiced doubt that Tehran is ready for serious negotiations.

Tehran may have assumed that a US–Israeli attack would activate the loose alignment it has cultivated with Moscow, Beijing and other non-Western powers. So far, it has instead exposed its limits.

Former Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a leaked message the United Arab Emirates is equal to Israel and Tehran must focus on attacking the UAE while striking US and Israeli interests, according to screenshots of his remarks in a private Telegram group.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran was seeking negotiations but warned it was “too late” as US-led strikes intensified in a widening conflict now entering its sixth day.

The White House says Iran rejected a US proposal to establish a joint civilian nuclear program with American investment in exchange for dismantling its uranium enrichment infrastructure before Washington and Israel launched strikes on the country.

A senior member of the European Parliament is calling for a fundamental shift in Europe’s approach toward Iran, arguing that continued negotiations with the Islamic Republic are no longer defensible after Tehran’s deadly crackdown on protesters.

Tehran appeared noticeably downbeat about the outcome of Thursday’s negotiations with Washington in Geneva, with signs of disappointment emerging first on the website of the government’s news agency.

Reports in major outlets that Tehran has floated a “commercial bonanza” to the Trump administration should be understood less as an investment roadmap than as a survival strategy.

The anxiety splashed across the front pages of Tehran outlets on Thursday did little to quiet the bluffs, threats and illusions that have defined a week of anticipation over possible Israeli or US strikes on Iran.

The mood in Tehran on the eve of the third round of talks with Washington appears to be a mix of guarded hope and tightening anxiety.

Iran said on Monday it does not support an interim agreement in talks with the United States and is seeking a swift, result-oriented deal focused on lifting sanctions and addressing nuclear issues, as the two sides prepare for another round of negotiations within days.

Tehran’s posture increasingly resembles that of an embattled state that sees greater odds of survival in confrontation than in compromise—one that views a decisive clash not as catastrophe, but as a potential turning point.

The second round of Iran–US nuclear talks was met with a muted and often critical reaction in Tehran, where official outlets questioned Washington’s commitment after American negotiators left Geneva within hours despite Iran’s offer to continue discussions.

The latest round of Iran-US talks in Geneva on Tuesday would likely not have taken place without sustained pressure from regional powers that leveraged their close relations with Washington to help avert a wider war.