Iran and the United States remain locked in difficult negotiations over a potential peace agreement, with officials on both sides signaling limited progress while acknowledging major disagreements remain unresolved.
US President Donald Trump said at the White House that Iran was “dying to make a deal”, while reiterating that Tehran “cannot have a nuclear weapon”.
Iranian officials, meanwhile, described the current phase of diplomacy as “a turning point” amid a series of high-level meetings in Tehran involving Pakistani and Qatari delegations.
An Iranian official speaking anonymously to Al Jazeera said ending the war “on all fronts” remained an “essential prerequisite” for any future negotiations and stressed that no final agreement had yet been reached.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said intensive diplomatic efforts were under way but cautioned that significant gaps remained between Tehran and Washington.
He said Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had arrived in Tehran with a senior delegation as mediation efforts continued alongside talks involving Qatari officials.
Baghaei described the negotiations as focused primarily on ending the war rather than addressing detailed nuclear issues at this stage.
He also reiterated Iran’s position that it has the right to pursue peaceful nuclear energy as a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there had been “some progress” in the negotiations but added that the United States was dealing with “very difficult” Iranian counterparts.
Major disagreements continue to center on Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Baghaei said any US demand for Iran to surrender its enriched uranium stockpile would prevent an agreement from being reached.
Iran has also linked broader regional issues, including Israel’s war in southern Lebanon and developments in the Strait of Hormuz, to any potential settlement.
Baghaei described recent US military actions in the strategic waterway as “piracy”.
Despite increased diplomatic engagement, Iranian officials said the differences between the two sides remain “deep and significant”, making it unclear whether a deal could be reached in the coming weeks or months.