US Media: Slight Progress in Iran Negotiations as Trump Deadline Approaches

Golden Finance reports that on April 8, according to the AXIOS website, a U.S. official, an Israeli official, and two people familiar with the negotiations said that within the past 24 hours, negotiations between the United States and Iran have made progress, but the likelihood of reaching a ceasefire agreement before the 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time deadline set by Trump still appears low. A U.S. official said that the White House’s consideration has shifted from “whether we can reach an agreement?” to “whether we can reach an agreement by tonight at 8:00?” The sources said that the key challenge right now is how to meet Iran’s demands for strong assurances from the United States and Israel to ensure that neither side will restart the war after the ceasefire; and because the security situation is tense, Iran’s leadership is responding more slowly. On Monday, Iran submitted a proposal to the United States through intermediaries. Although the proposal does not align with the U.S. position, a U.S. official and another person familiar with the matter said the White House actually views it as having some positive significance. The U.S. official said, “The latest proposal we received is not entirely in line with our expectations, but compared with what we originally envisioned, it’s already much better.” Sources said the negotiations are expected to continue over the next several hours until Trump’s final deadline expires.