ANKARA
Mediators are pressing Iran to make concessions on its nuclear program in an effort to revive ceasefire negotiations with the US, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The initiative follows US President Donald Trump’s rejection of an Iranian proposal for a seven-day ceasefire that would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz and ended the US blockade of Iranian ports, according to the Journal.
Mediators described the effort as a long-shot attempt to secure movement from Tehran on its nuclear program, while Iran has so far given little indication that it is prepared to discuss the issue.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Tehran remained open to negotiations but would respond to renewed military action.
“We are fully prepared for the war to resume,” Araghchi told NBC News when asked about the Journal report.
“We stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war. But at the same time we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose,” he added.
Arab mediators said Iran had made no concessions since Trump rejected its ceasefire proposal, while Gulf officials said Tehran wants Washington to offer concessions before negotiations advance.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, whose country is relaying messages between Washington and Tehran, said the conflict was becoming increasingly difficult to resolve.
“This conflict is very complex,” he said, earlier in New York at a special UN General Assembly edition of the Qatar Economic Forum.
Iran wants Washington to return to a memorandum of understanding reached in June that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and eventually beginning nuclear negotiations in exchange for measures including sanctions relief, the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian funds held overseas and an end to the US blockade.
US officials, however, said Trump no longer wants to return to that agreement, while Washington has tightened sanctions and maintained its blockade.
A senior Middle Eastern official involved in the talks said Iran could compromise on its nuclear program but would require explicit assurances that Israel would not attack again after any US-Iran agreement.
