The two countries may have largely stopped their firefights, but accounts from Washington and Tehran make it clear that the two poles remain far apart.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump said the US had halted attacks on Iran at the request of his administration.
“They were very kind to me and said, ‘Please stop, let’s meet,'” Trump said.
But the Iranian government seems to have a different view and is prepared to make long-term efforts to secure its demands.
On the same day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghai appeared to contradict Trump. “There are no negotiations with the United States at this time.”
Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, “There was no request from the Iranian delegation to continue negotiations.”
During the lull, Iran held talks with Oman rather than the United States over the Strait of Hormuz. Baghai further cemented Iran’s position on Tuesday, saying talks with Oman were “constructive” but “irrelevant” to the United States.
President Trump could see the lull as a victory if Oman makes a breakthrough in the waterway, thereby granting Iran’s demands to maintain full control and impose tolls on ships. But that doesn’t seem to have happened yet.
Baghai said the talks were aimed at “establishing a mechanism for Iran and Oman, as two littoral states, to ensure safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, while respecting the sovereignty and sovereignty of both littoral states and safeguarding Iran’s security and national interests.”
The kicker is on the last line. In diplomatic parlance, “compliance with national security and national interests” can have a vague meaning, giving both sides, and end users such as the United States, leeway to interpret it broadly enough to mean no burden.
But ambiguity is already a problem. The deal reached last month between Iran and the United States included provisions aimed at bringing the two countries into further talks.
There is currently no evidence that Iran’s interpretation of the Oman proposal will be any more favorable to the United States than the June deal, further entrenching the impression that Iran can keep this going longer than President Trump’s political capital or patience.
