Trump Raises the Bar on Tehran... New Proposal Reshuffles the Negotiating Deck

U.S. President Donald Trump has presented Iran with a new, tougher proposal, in a move that has redrawn the course of the ongoing negotiations between the two sides, despite signs in recent days that an understanding was close at hand.

According to The New York Times, the amendments introduced by the U.S. administration included tightening a number of provisions in the proposed agreement before the revised version was sent back to the Iranian side for review and comment, citing officials familiar with the course of the talks.

The exact nature of the amended provisions has not become fully clear, but Axios reported that Trump pushed to strengthen several points he considers essential, foremost among them the future of Iran’s nuclear materials and the mechanisms for dealing with them under any potential agreement.

Meanwhile, U.S. sources said the proposed draft was awaiting final approval from the American president, but that no final decision had yet been made following a meeting held in the White House Situation Room.

Trump stressed that any agreement with Tehran must include a clear commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, in addition to guaranteeing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping, given its strategic importance as a passageway through which about one-fifth of global oil supplies transit.

These developments come at a time when the negotiations are entering a delicate phase, amid international anticipation over whether the U.S. amendments will lead to a final agreement or to a new round of political wrangling between Washington and Tehran.