Sarah: Trump says Washington is “semi-negotiating.” Iran says there are no direct talks.
Sarah: So who, exactly, is talking to whom?
Sarah: Before today’s development
Sarah: here’s where things stood: U.S.-Iran talks had focused on the Strait of Hormuz—reopening it
Sarah: easing sanctions changing maritime restrictions
Sarah: with Oman mediating.
Sarah: Iran said a general framework had been worked out with Oman, but the final text and details still needed higher-level approval.
Sarah: Diplomacy was still alive, but unfinished.
Rich: This is Iran War Daily.
Rich: Today, talk of negotiations gets slipperier.
Rich: Hormuz gets more expensive, and Gaza loses a potential off-ramp.
Rich: This story isn't over: US-Iran deal negotiations.
Rich: Follow us wherever you're listening, and the next chapter comes to you.
Sarah: Adam Hancock and Zsombor Peter, writing in Al Jazeera:
Quote: US President Donald Trump says Washington is only “semi-negotiating” with Tehran and will wait for economic pressure on Iran to mount.
Quote: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says there are no direct talks with the US and insists the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until
Quote: Washington meets Tehran’s demands
Quote: including lifting the naval blockade.
Sarah: Here’s where the U.S.-Iran talks stand: President Trump says Washington is “semi-negotiating”; Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says there
Sarah: are no direct talks.
Sarah: Both can be true if contact is indirect—or if the two governments mean different channels.
Rich: “Semi-negotiating” is a wonderfully slippery phrase while the Strait of Hormuz is still closed.
Rich: Trump says he’ll wait for economic pressure on Iran to build.
Rich: Araghchi says the waterway reopens only after Washington lifts what Tehran calls the naval blockade.
Sarah: Araghchi has made lifting the blockade a condition for reopening Hormuz.
Sarah: Al Jazeera says Iran’s terms are tied to sanctions relief and an end to military pressure
Sarah: while the White House wants economic pressure first.
Sarah: The fight is over sequencing.
Rich: Meanwhile, ships, oil buyers, and insurers are paying for that dispute while both capitals debate vocabulary.
Rich: Israel’s formal rejection of the 15-point Gaza peace plan also takes away a diplomatic win Washington could have pointed to.
Rich: The region’s crises are getting harder at the same time.
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Host: Links to every story we covered are in the show notes, so you can dig into anything that caught your attention.
Host: Thanks for listening.
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Host: That’s Iran War Daily for today.
Host: This is a Lantern Podcast.