WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump raised doubts on Monday about whether he would follow through on a threatened resumption of military strikes against Iran, and said a deal with Tehran could happen, Reuters reported. Trump had in recent weeks hinted about renewing attacks on Iran after the US midterm elections on Tuesday, but after a speech at the Washington Reflecting Pool on Monday he indicated he might be thinking otherwise: asked by reporters if he was considering striking Iran after the midterms, Trump replied "no."

Source: Reuters

Vice President JD Vance said there had been "a number of good conversations with the Iranians." "Look, the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We're going to keep on working at it," he said, according to Reuters. Speaking at Joint Base Andrews, Vance added that the two sides had "certainly made some progress" and that Washington had set no deadline for a deal, while stressing that the president retains military and non-military options and that the priority is making sure Iran does not rebuild its nuclear programme.

Source: Reuters

Mediators carry the draft to Tehran

Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Monday night for talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on a version of the draft US-Iran deal that has been under negotiation for the past eight days, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters. Iran's negotiators had left Doha on Sunday — not because of any problem in the talks, the official said — and a draft proposal was being circulated. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said consultations through mediators were "very intensive" and that everything depended on Washington, in comments carried by the state media outlet IRNA.

Source: Reuters via BusinessWorld

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the plan Iran submitted in September to end the war remained the focus of discussions, but the seven-step proposal had been condensed so it could be implemented within two days. The plan would call for the US to end its blockade on Iranian ports, Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a US waiver on Iranian oil sales and the cancellation of new sanctions, and then talks on other issues, Reuters reported. Trump rejected the original seven-step proposal in September, and Iranian sources told Reuters they still believed a new US attack was more likely than a deal.

Source: Reuters via BusinessWorld

A shift from Saturday's 'no decision'

Monday's remarks go a step beyond what Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday, when he told reporters Trump "hasn't made a decision" on further military action — a position Awaaz Punjab reported at the time. Trump also told Axios on Monday that he was "in no rush" to decide on resuming military action, and stressed his bottom-line demand on Monday: "We're not going to allow Iran ever to have a nuclear weapon, and they understand that. They've understood that and they've said it even recently." China and Russia both spoke out on Monday against renewed military action, with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi saying all parties should focus on political solutions, Reuters reported.

Source: Reuters

The war, which the US and Israel launched on February 28, has led to Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a US blockade on Iranian ports, repeated Iranian drone and missile fire on Gulf states and renewed conflict in Yemen. Oil prices fell sharply on Monday as hopes grew that mediation could produce a diplomatic solution. For the lakhs of Punjabi and Indian workers across the Gulf, the difference between a negotiated settlement and a resumed bombing campaign is direct: it shapes their safety, oil and fuel prices, flights home and the remittances their families depend on.

Source: Reuters via BusinessWorld