TEHRAN – Despite diplomatic efforts, mainly involving Pakistan, to secure a permanent end to the US-Israeli war on Iran, President Donald Trump appears determined to maintain pressure on Tehran rather than seek a lasting political settlement.
A ceasefire on April 8 paused the joint US-Israeli aggression that initially began on February 28. The truce was achieved after Trump agreed to Iran’s terms, which also led to Pakistani-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington in Islamabad on April 11.
However, those negotiations failed due to what Iran described as the Trump administration’s “excessive, unrealistic, and unacceptable” demands.
Pakistan’s mediation efforts
Nonetheless, Pakistan has continued its efforts to bridge the gap between the two sides. The visits of senior Pakistani officials to Tehran are being viewed in this context.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met visiting Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran again on Friday to discuss the latest proposals aimed at ending the war. The Pakistani minister arrived in Tehran on Wednesday. Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces (CDF), Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, also arrived in Tehran late on Friday for talks with senior Iranian officials.
Distrust between Iran and the United States has deepened over the past year. This is because the US attacked Iran twice while the two sides were engaged in negotiations: once in June 2025 and again in late February this year.
Verification of Trump’s claims
During both wars, Trump claimed victory. He has said that the United States destroyed Iran’s military capabilities during the 39 days of war that were paused by last month’s truce. Nonetheless, American officials speaking to US media have rejected such claims.
On Thursday, citing four sources familiar with US intelligence assessments, CNN called into question claims about the extent to which US-Israeli strikes had degraded Iran’s military capabilities in the long term. Before the ceasefire, US intelligence sources had told CNN that roughly half of Iran’s missile launchers were still intact and that thousands of one-way attack drones remained in Iran’s arsenal despite daily US and Israeli strikes. Thursday’s report put the figure at two-thirds, stating that Iran was rebuilding its military-industrial base faster than expected.
Such revelations indicate that Trump was forced to reach a ceasefire with Iran because of the failure of his military strategy. A similar view was reflected in comments made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz late last month. Merz said on April 23 that the United States was being “humiliated” in its war with Iran, warning that Washington lacked a clear path out of the conflict as Tehran gained the upper hand.
Trump’s new approach appears to oscillate between calls for a ceasefire and threats of renewed military action in an attempt to create a fabricated sense of victory over Iran while also seeking a face-saving exit from the conflict.
The United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said on Thursday that the USS Abraham Lincoln was maintaining “peak readiness” in the region.
In a social media post, CENTCOM said its forces remained ready while “enforcing the US blockade against Iranian ports.”
In line with that approach, Trump has used the naval blockade imposed on Iran in mid-April as a form of economic warfare. It appears that both economic pressure and repeated calls for a ceasefire are intended to gloss over military setbacks on the battlefield.
On Thursday, Trump reposted a New York Post op-ed linked to a pro-Israel think tank that has long supported military action against Tehran.
The article called on the United States to “sustain the blockade and accompanying economic warfare.”
Another ruse?
The post came after US media widely reported that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were at loggerheads during a phone call on Tuesday over the future of the Iran war.
Netanyahu reportedly pushed the United States to resume attacks, while Trump resisted new strikes in hopes of reaching a deal.
Some analysts believe there are big differences between Trump and Netanyahu, while others say reports of tense talks between the US president and the Israeli prime minister are merely a ruse aimed at diverting attention from possible new strikes against Iran.
Iran has stressed that it remains open to diplomacy, but that its armed forces are prepared to respond if a new war begins.
Trump appears frustrated by the failure of military action against Iran and now seems to be using diplomacy in an attempt to force Tehran into submission. He has threatened that if Iran does not meet his demands, he will launch a new war, but so far, his threats have largely rung hollow.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking in Helsingborg, Sweden, during a NATO meeting, said “there’s been some slight progress” toward a deal with Iran, but added, “I don’t want to exaggerate it.”
Rubio said the main issues in the negotiations were Iran’s position on the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program.
Iran has said that it will maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz and that vessels transiting through the waterway should coordinate with Iranian armed forces.
The United States is asking Iran to ship out more than 400 kilograms of enriched uranium, which is believed to be buried beneath nuclear sites bombed by the US in June last year. Iran says it will never transfer the enriched uranium to a third country, but that it is willing to discuss the level of uranium enrichment in the second stage of negotiations if the US meets certain demands.
Iran’s conditions
Iran said on Thursday that it had received and was reviewing Washington’s response to Tehran’s latest ceasefire proposal.
Iran’s demands include guarantees of non-aggression, the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, compensation for damage inflicted by the US and Israel during the war, recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and an end to Israeli strikes in Lebanon.
However, it appears unlikely that the White House will agree to these terms. This is because Trump’s objective in talks with Iran appears to be Iranian capitulation. In effect, he seems intent on achieving through negotiations what he failed to accomplish on the battlefield. As a result, the US approach to talks with Iran does not appear genuine.
Trump’s hollow diplomacy
In an article titled “This Guy Has No Will for a Deal,” published days before the 12-day war in June last year, the Tehran Times warned that Trump preferred continued confrontation with Iran over genuine diplomatic engagement.
Trump has been under the illusion that he could implement a Venezuela-style scenario in Iran through political and military decapitation. The failure of this strategy was reflected in what US officials recently told The New York Times. They acknowledged that Iran’s “successful resistance” and “enormous resilience” had complicated Washington’s war aims and strengthened Tehran’s position on the battlefield.
Presently, the ball is in Trump’s court. He can either renew the war and risk further humiliation, as suggested by the German chancellor, or pursue genuine diplomacy, which appears unlikely based on his pattern of behavior.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
