Trump may lose interest in Iran agreement after midterms, i24NEWS learns

Mediators have warned Iran to take negotiations with the US seriously, cautioning that President Trump may no longer be interested in an agreement after the US midterm elections and that Iran could face renewed strikes, a source familiar with the negotiations told i24NEWS.

“If Iran doesn’t accept the agreement soon, Trump will either decide to continue or deepen the blockade on Iran or launch a renewed offensive against the Islamic Republic,” according to the source.

Messages are being exchanged daily between the US and Iran through the mediators, according to the source. The exchanges concern the latest proposal that Qatari and Pakistani mediators presented to both sides this week.

The mediators are now waiting for Iran to respond to the latest US counterproposal, the source said. Iranian officials need to take the proposal to their highest level of leadership, which takes time.

The new proposal is similar to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding but is more specific on certain issues, the source said. It is based on phased implementation rather than linking all the issues together, similar to the model of the Gaza agreement.

Under the proposal’s first phase, which would last seven days, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen and the US blockade on Iranian ports would end. Only then would discussions on the other issues begin, according to the source.

The two sides are currently 70% to 80% in agreement, the source said. The main sticking points remain the same as they have always been, mainly the mechanism for unfreezing Iranian funds and downgrading Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

The biggest obstacle is the deep mistrust between the sides, the source said, adding that the mediators are trying to rebuild trust.

The source said Iran was the first to violate the Islamabad memorandum, and that Iranian violations of the agreements largely outweigh US violations.

“Nobody in the GCC wants the war to resume,” the source told i24NEWS, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Emirati security officials are meeting with officials from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in Tehran to encourage them to accept the American terms, according to the source. The backchannel exists because of the close ties between Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ national security adviser, and the Revolutionary Guard.

i24NEWS reached out to Emirati officials for comment but did not receive a response.