South Korean media: Trump "received a better new proposal"... Iran Foreign Minister heads to Pakistan again

¬ Trump is expected to discuss follow-up action plans against Iran with his team on Monday

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Although the second round of U.S.-Iran talks has collapsed

The Iranian state-run IRNA news agency reported on the 25th local time that Abbas Araghchi, the core figure in Iran's negotiations with the United States over a ceasefire, decided to return to Pakistan—the mediator country. After visiting Pakistan the previous day and conveying Iran’s demands, Araghchi had originally planned to go to Russia but instead changed course and returned to Pakistan. After the Iranian negotiating team left Pakistan, President Donald Trump, who had canceled the U.S. negotiating team’s visit to Pakistan, said: “Within less than 10 minutes after canceling the trip to Pakistan, we received a far better new document.”

The second round of ceasefire talks between the U.S. and Iran, originally scheduled for around the 27th, has effectively been called off, yet both sides have sent signals indicating that the situation is not entirely broken. However, there are concerns that due to significant differences over core issues such as Iran’s uranium enrichment, it may be difficult for the two sides to resolve their disputes in the short term.

"Iran’s internal divisions make negotiations difficult"

Over the weekend, the U.S. and Pakistan engaged in an intense psychological battle. Previously, the international community had anticipated that the two countries would continue their talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, around the 27th. Particularly on the 24th, Araghchi led a small delegation to visit Pakistan and met with influential military chief General Asim Munir, further raising expectations. The U.S. also announced that Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner would visit Pakistan.

But Araghchi merely left behind a proposal related to the ceasefire and suddenly departed from the negotiation site on the 25th. Some believe that with the U.S. negotiating team canceling its visit to Pakistan, the talks were effectively dead. When Trump revealed the cancellation, he expressed dissatisfaction, saying, “I won’t fly 18 hours just to talk about trivial matters.” Reuters stated: “The talks aimed at ending the war have reached a deadlock.”

Yet both sides appear not to have fully closed the door to dialogue. After canceling the dispatch of the negotiating team, Trump said, “We hold all the cards,” while leaving room by stating, “If Iran wants to talk, they just need to pick up the phone.” Araghchi also posted on social media platform X: “Visiting Pakistan was highly beneficial.”

Iran’s internal divisions and ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah stand as obstacles

Some analysts point out that political divisions within Iran are making negotiations difficult. The Wall Street Journal noted: “There are serious disagreements between hardliners centered on the Revolutionary Guard and negotiators regarding ceasefire conditions.” Hardliners particularly oppose placing U.S. demands to halt uranium enrichment on the negotiation table.

Continuing clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border have also become a stumbling block for restarting negotiations. According to Lebanon’s state-run news agency, on the evening of the 25th, Israeli fighter jets conducted airstrikes on southern Lebanon. This attack followed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah violated the ceasefire agreement. Shortly after Israel’s strike, Hezbollah launched attack drones toward northern Israel.

On the first day of next month, the U.S. war timeline expires

In the United States, voices centered in Congress argue that the legal timeframe allowing President Trump to sustain military operations against Iran is about to expire. Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the U.S. president must report to Congress within 48 hours after deploying U.S. forces into “hostile actions,” and if Congress does not approve, military operations must cease within 60 days. The U.S. military began its “Operation Epic Fury” campaign against Iran on February 28. The first of next month marks day 60, but the U.S. government has not yet obtained congressional approval.

The U.S. Congress continues voting on measures to prevent Trump from launching military strikes against Iran without explicit congressional approval. Previously, the Senate held five votes on whether to end the war against Iran, but none passed. Moreover, some Republicans have voiced opposition to military actions lasting more than 60 days without congressional approval, leading to concerns that future votes might also face rejection.

However, even if Congress passes a resolution, Trump retains the power to veto it, so it remains unclear whether the war will truly end. In the past, the U.S. government has skillfully circumvented the War Powers Resolution. The Obama administration did not secure congressional approval when launching Operation Odyssey Dawn against Libya in 2011. At the time, Obama argued: “Since no ground troops were deployed to Libya, the situation was not one of full-scale combat,” claiming the operation did not constitute “hostile actions” under the War Powers Resolution.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

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U.S. leader Donald Trump is expected to discuss U.S. follow-up action plans against Iran with his team on Monday.

According to reports citing three U.S. officials: “It is expected that President Trump will hold a central meeting on the Iran situation on Monday, convening with senior officials from national security and foreign policy fields.”

The meeting is planned to discuss the deadlock encountered in negotiations with Iran and possible follow-up action plans within the context of this conflict.

Source: sputniknews

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1863590543776842/

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