Seventy-one days into the Iran war, the diplomatic situation has entered its most revealing phase: both sides are exchanging fire in the Strait of Hormuz and simultaneously insisting they are still engaged in the negotiations that could end the war. Iran has not delivered its MOU response. But it has also not walked away.
What Al Jazeera’s Tehran Correspondent Confirmed
Iran has said it is reviewing a United States peace proposal that seeks to end the war, even as the two sides exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said his side is still reviewing the US proposal.
“There were reports that the response to the proposal was expected to be sent to Pakistani mediators yesterday. This has not been confirmed, but Iranian officials are saying they’re still reviewing it,” Atas said. “So despite this back and forth and these military confrontations, the diplomatic and mediation efforts seem to be still under way, and both sides are still interested in diplomatically engaging with each other,” he noted.
“Still reviewing” has now been Iran’s position for approximately five days since the US proposal was delivered. The delay is consistent with Iran’s negotiating pattern throughout this conflict: it does not rush responses, it uses delay as a pressure equaliser, and it allows internal factional debates to run before committing to a position that the IRGC and the civilian team can both accept.
What Iran Is Actually Objecting To
Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the parliament’s powerful foreign policy and national security committee, described the text as “more of an American wish-list than a reality” this week. According to US media reports, Washington sent Iran a 14-point document earlier this week.
Under its proposals, Iran would be required to agree not to develop a nuclear weapon and halt all enrichment of uranium for at least 12 years. It would also be required to hand over an estimated 440kg (970lb) stock of uranium, which it has enriched to 60 percent.
The 440kg of 60%-enriched uranium. This is the specific element that Iranian hardliners find most objectionable. Surrendering that stockpile — nearly a tonne of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade — is not just a technical nuclear concession.
It is a public, physical, irreversible act that Iran’s IRGC frames as surrender and Iran’s civilian leadership frames as a confidence-building measure. The moratorium Iran can eventually agree to describe as “temporary.” The HEU surrender is permanent.
What Trump Said Overnight
In a post on his Truth Social Platform late on Thursday, US President Donald Trump called Iran’s leadership “lunatics” and warned Tehran would face more severe military action if it did not quickly agree to a deal.
“Lunatics” is the language of a president who is frustrated by delay, not by the substance of what is being negotiated. The threat of “more severe military action” is the same escalation threat Trump has made at every previous stalled moment in this conflict — and it has been followed, each time, by a Pakistan intervention that produces a de-escalation.
The pattern says: the war does not resume from this moment. The diplomatic channel continues. Iran’s response arrives in a form that Rubio can call “a serious offer.” And the Pakistani mediator’s “we will close this very soon” remains the most reliable forecast available.
