Iran war: new proposal from Tehran
Tehran says it has submitted a new proposal to Washington aimed at ending the war. US President Donald Trump responded by saying that plans for an imminent strike had been put on hold and that he hoped for 'serious negotiations'. Although little is known about what this might entail, Europe press speculates on ways out of the crisis.
Talks or strikes?
Rzeczpospolita puts itself in the position of the US president:
“Trump now has two options. The first is to continue to negotiate with Iran, which is well aware of the position he is in and can therefore make tough demands. The second option is another military operation, for which both Israel and the US would be better prepared than for the two previous ones, including the 12-day bombardment in June 2025. However, it's still not clear whether it's even possible to bring Iran to its knees with more bombardments.”
First constructive concessions
In a Facebook post, political analyst Arkady Dubnov points to a shift in the deadlocked negotiations between Iran and the US:
“The White House has reportedly agreed to Iran's demand to lift the sanctions on Iranian oil. ... If Trump's team doesn't categorically rule out this proposal – which appears to have been deliberately orchestrated by Tehran – it could be argued that the Americans have taken the first step towards helping the Iranians to 'save face' in the negotiations – in the hope of securing concessions in return. Such a turn of events would be a step away from the military scenarios to which there seemed to be no alternative.”
Tried and tested resilience
Iran has strengthened its negotiating position, observes La Stampa:
“Iran has not collapsed. Eighty days into this war, this is the most politically relevant fact. It did not implode after the killing of entire sections of its military leadership. It was not destroyed after the assassination of its Supreme Leader. ... The US miscalculated. It not only underestimated the Iranian weapons arsenal, but above all the resilience of the system. ... Iran has demonstrated that it can use the Strait of Hormuz not as a last-resort threat, but as a permanent strategic lever.”