{"id":339204,"date":"2026-05-23T02:55:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T21:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=339204"},"modified":"2026-05-23T02:55:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T21:25:10","slug":"u-s-notes-slight-progress-in-iran-talks-but-uncertain-deal-can-be-made-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/23\/u-s-notes-slight-progress-in-iran-talks-but-uncertain-deal-can-be-made-national\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. notes \u2018slight progress\u2019 in Iran talks, but uncertain deal can be made – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday there was \u201cslight progress\u201d during talks with Iran amid uncertainty as as to whether a deal can be reached or war will resume.<\/p>\n

He spoke days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was holding off on a military strike on Iran because \u201cserious negotiations\u201d were underway. Trump has been threatening for weeks that the ceasefire reached in mid-April could end if Iran doesn’t make a deal, with shifting parameters for striking such an agreement.<\/p>\n

Rubio spoke ahead of a gathering of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, where the military alliance is predicted to debate what role it could play in helping police the Strait of Hormuz once the war is over.<\/p>\n

Rubio said he didn\u2019t need to exaggerate the progress, saying there had been \u201csomewhat little bit of movement and that\u2019s good.\u201d He said the conversations were ongoing. Still, in recent weeks there have been repeated claims of progress, yet a deal has not been reached.<\/p>\n

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Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran after which backed off. But he\u2019s also previously indicated he would hold off on military motion to permit talks to proceed \u2014 only to show around and launch strikes. That\u2019s what happened on the war\u2019s outset, when he ordered strikes in late February shortly after indicating he would let talks play out.<\/p>\n

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He said he called off attacks this week on Iran on the request of allies within the Middle East, including the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who’ve been targeted by Iran and its allied militias.<\/p>\n

But Trump\u2019s decision to offer the talks a probability sparked tension this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

An official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media said Thursday that Trump and Netanyahu had a \u201cdramatic\u201d phone conversation on Tuesday in regards to the status of the Iranian negotiations and that Israel is indignant with Trump\u2019s efforts to strike a cope with Iran.<\/p>\n

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Trump later told reporters that Netanyahu will \u201cwill do whatever I would like him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The comments are a number of the first public signs of daylight between the leaders since they launched the war in February.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tCeasefire efforts proceed but sticking points remain\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

On Friday, Pakistan said that the inside minister traveled to Tehran twice this week to fulfill Iranian leaders as a part of efforts to ease tensions between Iran and the US.<\/p>\n

At a weekly news briefing within the capital, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Pakistan\u2019s political and military leadership were working to advertise peace and that the minister\u2019s two visits were a testament to that.<\/p>\n

He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Beijing on Saturday at China\u2019s invitation, for a four-day visit, adding that Pakistan\u2019s peace efforts are expected to be discussed through the trip.<\/p>\n

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Still, major sticking points remain.<\/p>\n

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Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a significant waterway for the shipment of oil, gas, fertilizer and other petroleum products. The U.S. is\u00a0blockading Iranian ports\u00a0and has redirected 85 business vessels from mid-April through Monday, U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.<\/p>\n

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