Clash of perception: Why talks between Iran and the US are deadlocked

By Mostafa Salem, CNN

(CNN) — The United States waited 10 days for Iran’s response to its framework for ending the war. When Tehran’s demands arrived Sunday, they signaled that the Islamic Republic remains intent on extracting victory despite President Donald Trump’s push for regime surrender.

Neither side has publicly released the exact terms under negotiation, but Iranian state media reported that Tehran sought in its response a complete end to the war, formal recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and full sanctions relief.

The emboldened demands formed a counterproposal that Trump swiftly rejected. He deemed it “totally unacceptable” before calling it “a piece of garbage.”

It remains unclear which specific elements Trump objected to amid the obscurity shrouding the proposal. Iranian state media have consistently framed Tehran’s position throughout the war as one of strength in keeping with the government’s apparent effort to project an Iranian victory to its domestic audience.

Since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran more than 10 weeks ago, the Islamic Republic has pursued a strategy that firmly rejects any signal of capitulation. Instead, Tehran portrays a readiness to prolong the conflict if necessary to increase pressure on Washington and extract major commitments that would strengthen the regime financially and secure its long-term survival.

“They think I’ll get tired, or get bored, or I’ll have some pressure,” Trump told reporters in the White House on Monday. “There’s no pressure at all. We’re going to have a complete victory.”

Trump also complained that Iran’s leaders “change their mind” when the two sides appear to reach points of agreement, a lament that may reflect the Iranian military’s apparent refusal to sign off on measures that would satisfy his demands.

Differing priorities

The deadlock stems from differing priorities, with Trump seeking what one analyst said was a “quick and easy” triumph that includes immediate concessions on Iran’s nuclear program, while Tehran is determined to delay those demands and snag its own concessions first.

In one of its proposals, Iran has put forward a staggered, phased approach to negotiations, with the initial stages focused on declaring an end to the war on all fronts, lifting sanctions and ending any US naval blockade, while deferring talks on its nuclear program to later stages.

Trump, however, has demanded that Iran formally halt its nuclear program for a defined period — US officials seem to want at least 10 years — and turn over its existing stockpile of an estimated 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium.

“There’s a clash of perception,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the London-based Chatham House think tank. “We’re in a standoff because President Trump doesn’t understand why these guys are not making a deal to save themselves.”

“They will not give him concessions at the start of the agreement because they don’t trust him,” Vakil said, adding that the Iranians have been “personally burnt by him.”

In his weekly news conference, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that the “disagreement” with Washington is “between a party that is solely seeking its fundamental rights and a party that insists on violating the rights of the other side.” He added that Iran’s demands are “reasonable” and “responsible.”

“The Iranian regime’s reply reflects the mindset of a leadership that believes it survived the war and won, not that it lost it,” Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, said on X. “As a result, its demands remain high, and its willingness to compromise is extremely limited.”

And as Trump seeks to impose pressure on Iran, Tehran signals that it wants a more comprehensive and durable agreement by demanding firm guarantees that the US will not restart the war.

Ahead of Trump’s visit to China this week, Iranian officials have proposed that Beijing serve as a guarantor for any future agreement. Last week, Tehran dispatched Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Beijing for talks with his Chinese counterpart.

“Given the position that China holds for Iran and other countries in the Persian Gulf region, Beijing can serve as the guarantor for any agreement,” Iranian Ambassador to Beijing Abdolreza Rahman Fazli said Sunday in a post on X. “Any potential agreement must necessarily be accompanied by guarantees from the great powers and raised in the United Nations Security Council as well.”

Ceasefire on ‘life support’

Trump has long campaigned against dragging the US into “endless wars,” yet Iran has sought to pull him into a costly quagmire. Instead of the decisive victory he sought after the killing of the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader and his top commanders, the war has increasingly devolved into a stalemate.

Despite a ceasefire reached between Iran and the US more than a month ago, several naval clashes have erupted in the Strait of Hormuz as both sides continue to jostle for dominance over the vital waterway.

Washington’s allies in the region also said that Iran fired ballistic missiles and drones at their cities in renewed strikes after weeks of calm.

And with the negotiations between the capitals floundering, Trump said Monday the ceasefire is in danger of collapsing.

“I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support,” he told reporters in the White House.

For its part, the Islamic Republic’s military has signaled it is content with Trump’s continued dissatisfaction with the proposals.

“No one in Iran is making plans to please Trump,” an Iranian military spokesman, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, said Sunday on X. “The negotiating team must develop plans that respect only Iran’s rights, and naturally, it would be better if Trump were not satisfied with them.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.