Iran offers U.S. deal to reopen strait but postpone nuclear talks

But reaching a deal on the Strait of Hormuz first and lifting the U.S. blockade would leave President Trump with no real leverage in order to get Tehran to give up on its stockpile of enriched uranium and commit to a suspension of uranium enrichment for at least a decade. Addressing those two nuclear concerns through military action or diplomacy are a key objective for Trump in the war against Iran. What to watch: President Trump is expected to hold on Monday a situation room meeting on Iran with his top national security and foreign policy team, according to three U.S. officials. One of the officials said the meeting is expected to discuss the current stalemate in the negotiations with Iran and potential options for the next steps in the war. Trump signaled in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that he wants to continue the naval blockade, hoping that it will get Iran to cave in the next few weeks when its oil facilities could be under risk of collapsing due to the inability to export oil. When you have vast amounts of oil pouring through your system ... if for any reason this line is closed because you can't put it into containers or ships ... what happens is that line explodes from within ... they say they only have about three days before that happens, Trump said.And when it explodes you can never rebuild it the way it was...it would only be 50 of what it is right now. So I think they are under pressure. Driving the news: The crisis in the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran deepened during the weekend after a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Pakistan on Friday and Saturday ended with no progress. Trump told Axios the Iranian position led him to cancel a trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad. I see no point of sending them on an 18-hour flight in the current situation [of the negotiations]. 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. On Sunday, Araghchi held talks with Omani officials in Muscat that focused on the Strait of Hormuz and then went back to Islamabad for a second round of talks. On Monday, Araghchi was expected to travel to Moscow and meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Behind the scenes: During Araghchi's talks in Islamabad, he discussed with his Pakistani counterparts a new proposal that is trying to bypass the current impasse regarding the nuclear program, two sources with knowledge said.One of the sources said Araghchi made it clear to the Pakistani, Egyptian, Turkish and Qatari mediators over the weekend that there is no consensus inside the Iranian leadership about how to address the U.S. demands for long-term suspension of uranium enrichment and the removal of enriched uranium from the country. The two sources said the new Iranian-Pakistani proposal focuses on solving the crisis over the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. blockade first. As part of that, the ceasefire would be extended for a long period or the parties would agree on a permanent end to the war. According to the proposal, the nuclear negotiations would only start at a later stage after the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened and the blockade lifted, the sources said. Pakistani mediators have given the Iranian proposal to the White House. It is unclear whether the U.S. is willing to explore it. What are they saying: These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the U.S. will not negotiate through the press. As the president has said, the United States holds the cards and will only make a deal that puts the American people first, never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon, White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Axios. Spokespeople for the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign and the Pakistani military declined to comment.