Trump open to Iran sanctions relief for ‘concrete progress’ on nuclear issues, US official says
By Kristen Holmes, Alayna Treene, CNN
(CNN) — President Donald Trump is willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release frozen funds as part of a final deal, but only if Tehran offers “concrete progress” on the nuclear issue, a US official told CNN Monday, as mediators try to bring both countries back to the negotiating table.
The United States is having “positive and constructive discussions through the mediators,” the official said, though they noted that there will not be a deal unless nuclear issues are addressed. Trump on Saturday rejected Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling it “unacceptable.”
On Sunday, Trump told Axios that he expects more talks with Iran to occur this week. The official said that special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are leading the talks on the US side. On Monday, he also disputed the idea he had “offered” Iran any concession, saying on Truth Social that he “offered them NOTHING!”
“They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make,” the president said Sunday. “It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago. They overplayed their hand.”
According to the official, Iran has indicated they are flexible on nuclear issues — but both sides have not reached an agreement on the timing of the commitments.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, denied a change in Tehran’s position shortly before he departed New York on Tuesday. “Claims have been circulating for several hours now, and I can state categorically that there has been no change whatsoever in Iran’s positions,” he told state broadcaster IRIB.
“At present, the only issue is the Strait of Hormuz,” Araghchi said. Iran had held a meeting with a Qatari mediator who would present ideas to the US, he said.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that Trump rejected the earlier proposal because he did not believe Iran was negotiating in good faith, arguing that it was unacceptable that Tehran was “asking for everything up front.”
“The bottom line is they were asking for everything up front with a promise that they would then talk,” Waltz said on “State of the Union.”
Waltz later told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “it’s kind of common sense” Trump doesn’t have a lot of confidence in the Iranian proposal. He dismissed Tehran’s latest offer as “a pretty cynical attempt to put something on the table that they knew was unacceptable.”
The US official reiterated Waltz’s assertion that the United States is skeptical of Iran’s promises, given the country violated the US-Iran memorandum of understanding reached in July by firing on commercial vessels.
This story has been updated with additional context and developments.
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