Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran is "considering" going back to talks with the Trump administration, which has not "achieved a single goal."
"Iran is resisting the biggest superpower in the world," Araghchi said after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. As a result, he added, President Donald Trump is "asking for negotiations, and we're considering it."
Araghchi went on to criticize the U.S. for making "excessive demands and incorrect approaches," saying they have led to the current stalemate in the negotiations.
Axios detailed in a new report that Tehran as sent the U.S. a new proposal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. It involves the two topics and would leave nuclear negotiations for a later stage, bypassing the most sticking point of talks between the countries to reach a deal more quickly.
The ceasefire would lead to the end of hostilities and the reopening of the key waterway, lasting for an extended period and allowing for nuclear talks to be continued later.
President Donald Trump, the outlet added, has not given a response to the proposal, which would remove the U.S.'s most important leverage to guarantee the removal of Tehran's nuclear stockpile and guarantees that it won't continue enriching uranium or attempt to produce a weapon in the future.
He is expected to hold a meeting in the Situation Room with top national security and foreign policy officials on Monday to assess the current situation and future steps.
Trump appeared to hint in an interview with Fox News that he intends to continue with the blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz to choke Tehran's finances and inventories. "They say they only have about three days before that happens," he said.
Negotiations continued to be deadlocked during the weekend. Trump cancelled a trip from special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday after Araghchi left the country without meeting them.
"I see no point of sending them on an 18-hour flight in the current situation. It's too long. We can do it just as well by telephone. The Iranians can call us if they want. We are not gonna travel just to sit there," Trump said.
Araghchi then returned to Pakistan for further talks, where he discussed the proposal to leave nuclear talks outside the equation. He then went to Russia, where Putin said he saw "how courageously and heroically the people of Iran are fighting for their independence" and told Araghchi that Moscow would "do everything that serves your interests and the interests of all the peoples of the region."
