{"id":668417,"date":"2026-05-27T17:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/668417\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T17:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T17:01:09","slug":"trump-meets-his-cabinet-at-a-precarious-moment-in-iran-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/668417\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump meets his Cabinet at a precarious moment in Iran talks"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump<\/a> gathered with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious moment for talks aimed at ending the war with Iran<\/a> and asserted that the Iranian side is \u201cnegotiating on fumes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump confidence that a deal is near comes just days after he insisted that his administration and Tehran had \u201clargely negotiated\u201d a settlement<\/a> but with the negotiations still in a state of flux<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The president is looking for a settlement that will reopen the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> and provide him a credible argument that Iran\u2019s nuclear capability<\/a> has been diminished enough to declare victory, winding down a conflict that\u2019s been politically unpopular for Republicans. <\/p>\n

But as things stand, Trump also risks finding closure to his war of choice comes with an unsatisfactory ending. <\/p>\n

The emerging deal puts off many critical issues to be resolved later and has already exposed the Republican president to fierce criticism \u2014 even from some of his own supporters \u2014 that Iran\u2019s hard-line leaders will emerge from the conflict battered but emboldened. It all comes to a head just as the midterm elections<\/a> to determine control of Congress come into focus and as Republicans worry that rising costs and fuel prices<\/a> are darkening the American electorate\u2019s mood.<\/p>\n

Trump at the start of his Cabinet meeting said there\u2019s still work needed to get a deal done, but he spoke with a measure of certainty that the two sides would get there. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey want very much to make a deal,\u201d Trump said. \u201cSo far, they haven\u2019t gotten there. We\u2019re not satisfied with it, but we will be \u2014 either that or we\u2019ll have to just finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

But talks were further complicated after U.S. forces carried out what the Pentagon called \u201cdefensive\u201d strikes<\/a> on missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in southern Iran on Monday. The U.S. said it acted with \u201crestraint\u201d in light of the weekslong ceasefire<\/a>, while Iran decried the action as a sign of \u201cbad faith and unreliability.\u201d <\/p>\n

Some Trump backers are skeptical<\/p>\n

While Trump insists a deal is within reach, there appears to be daylight between the U.S. and Iran on several key issues. The president is also facing scrutiny from Republican allies<\/a>, including Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas, who have said the terms seem too favorable to Tehran. <\/p>\n

They\u2019re balking at aspects of the deal that have emerged publicly that they say too closely resemble the nuclear agreement reached with Iran by Democratic President Barack Obama, which Trump scrapped during his first term.<\/p>\n

Under the potential deal, Tehran would agree to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium<\/a> \u2014 a key Trump demand \u2014 in return for sanctions relief. That\u2019s according to two regional officials and one senior Trump administration official, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.<\/p>\n

One regional official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, said how Iran would give up the uranium would be subject to further talks during a 60-day period. Some would likely be diluted, while the rest would be transferred to a third country, the official said. <\/p>\n

Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency<\/a>. Iran has not publicly committed to giving up its uranium.<\/p>\n

Trump on Monday said in a Truth Social post that the uranium, which is believed to be buried under nuclear sites battered by U.S. airstrikes last year, would either be turned over to the U.S. or \u201cdestroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event.\u201d The comment signals a softening of Trump\u2019s previous insistence that the U.S. take control of Iran\u2019s uranium stockpile.<\/p>\n

How Trump\u2019s plan affects Israel\u2019s war in Lebanon<\/p>\n

Another key issue unresolved is whether the ceasefire will also cover Israel\u2019s operations against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire agreement negotiated with the United States. <\/p>\n

The administration appears to leave some wiggle room on the Lebanon question. The emerging memorandum of understanding calls for a ceasefire between the U.S. and its allies against Iran and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, but also underscores Israel\u2019s right to act against imminent threats and in self-defense.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday announced that the Israeli military is \u201cdeepening its operation\u201d in Lebanon. Overnight, Israel\u2019s military clashed with the Iran-backed militant Hezbollah<\/a> group along a strategic river in southern Lebanon as Israeli troops pushed farther north.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Conricus, a former spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said Israel expects that Iran would quickly move to direct any sanctions relief to restore its military capability and boost proxy groups, including Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not done fighting, because the Iranian regime isn\u2019t done,\u201d said Conricus, who is a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish Washington think tank.<\/p>\n

\u2018Stunned silence\u2019 as Trump ties Abraham Accords to Iran deal<\/p>\n

Trump on Monday said any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords<\/a>, the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump\u2019s first term aimed at normalizing diplomatic and economic relations with Israel.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s optimism that the other Middle Eastern and majority Muslim countries could soon sign on to the accords might be overly ambitious. <\/p>\n

For example, Saudi Arabia, the most significant power in the Arab world and long seen as the biggest prize for the normalization effort, has insisted that establishing a guaranteed path to a Palestinian state<\/a> remains a precondition. It\u2019s something that Israel vehemently opposes.<\/p>\n

Trump made the Abraham Accords push during a call with leaders of Mideast allies over the weekend. <\/p>\n

Barbara Leaf, a retired U.S. ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and senior State Department official during President Joe Biden\u2019s Democratic administration, said officials from Gulf countries who were on the call told her that Trump\u2019s pitch was greeted by \u201cstunned silence.\u201d A person familiar with the call disputed that characterization and said that some regional allies responded positively to the president\u2019s call to join the accords. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity about the private conversation.<\/p>\n

Leaf, a distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute, said that Middle Eastern allies of the United States recognize that Iran will likely use any money from sanctions relief to bolster its military capabilities. Still, they have been supportive of Trump pursuing an end to the conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey see no other way out,\u201d Leaf said of American allies in the region. \u201cAnd they see no other way out because of many of these early mistakes that the president and the administration made in conducting the war.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP writers Matthew Lee, Michelle L. Price and Darlene Superville in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump gathered with his Cabinet on Wednesday at a precarious moment for talks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":668418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,8833,291861,5620,1930,12,793,3138,158238,7590,801,1570,228242,1569,3319,291860,5852,129,1576,3,111,16946,3776,9669,267317,21,19,22,20,25,24,964,800,965],"class_list":["post-668417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-barack-obama","tag-barbara-leaf","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-diplomacy","tag-donald-trump","tag-general-news","tag-government-and-politics","tag-hezbollah","tag-international-agreements","tag-iran","tag-iran-government","tag-iran-war","tag-israel-government","tag-joe-biden","tag-jonathan-conricus","tag-lindsey-graham","tag-middle-east","tag-military-and-defense","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-roger-wicker","tag-sanctions-and-embargoes","tag-ted-cruz","tag-trump-hub","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-war-and-unrest","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/668418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}