IranThe Answer Is In the Room: Araghchi Takes Washington’s Reply to the Cabinet, Tehran Says Nothing About It, and Trump Promises an End or an Explosion
Day 215 in one line: the answer Iran had waited a week for arrived, went into a Cabinet meeting, and did not come out — while the American president said the war would end very soon or Iran would be blown up.
The Answer Arrives
Iran confirmed on Wednesday that it had received the formal American response to its seven-day proposal, delivered through Qatari mediators. Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told IRNA that Foreign Minister Araghchi presented it to President Pezeshkian at a Cabinet meeting, where he also briefed ministers on New York and on the conditions for reopening the strait conveyed through the mediators. Officials did not say what the response contained or whether it was a rejection. Qatari officials had briefed Araghchi in Doha on Tuesday as he returned from New York. This tracker records the response as received and its contents as undisclosed.
Pezeshkian: "Win-Win"
Pezeshkian said Iran would make every effort to bring the agreement to fruition and would firmly stand up for the rights of the Iranian people, adding: "The agreement must now be based on a win-win strategy." The phrasing — the agreement, to be brought to fruition — is the language of a text under negotiation rather than one refused. It is not, on its own, evidence of what Washington wrote.
Trump: "Very Soon" — or "Blow Them Up"
On Tuesday Trump said Iran was failing very badly and predicted anew that the war would be over very soon, with oil prices tumbling; on Wednesday, in the Oval Office, he threatened to blow Iran up if the two sides do not reach a deal soon. He offered no details of the response delivered through Qatar. The pairing is the one this archive has logged since Day 205 — a deal or destruction — now attached to an answer that is in Tehran’s hands.
The Pressure Track Continues
The Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Tuesday against ten individuals and entities in Iran, Hong Kong and Pakistan accused of procuring weapons and components for Iran’s defence ministry. The administration says it is pressing economic warfare in parallel with the talks, and Iran’s economy, under heavy strain before the war, has been in free fall since late February. A briefed official quoted by HNGN put the state of play in one line: both sides agree on the pieces but not the order.
Baghdad
In Baghdad on Wednesday, supporters of Iran-aligned armed factions rallied to celebrate the withdrawal of forces of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State from Iraq, holding portraits of Qassem Soleimani. Iraq is the country from which the drones that shut the Saudi pipeline on Day 197 were launched.
Status Assessment
Tracker status holds at WAR RESUMED. Day 215 is the first day since UN week on which a formal American text sits in Tehran. Iran has not said what it says; its president is talking about bringing an agreement to fruition; the American president is talking about either an early end or blowing the country up; and the Treasury is adding sanctions in the meantime. Iran’s reply is now the next event. No ceasefire is in force.