Source: Trump Needs to Make Deal with Iranians Now

April 24—The White House confirmed this afternoon that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner were on their way to Islamabad for a new round of discussions with Iranian negotiators aimed at finding a permanent settlement to the now nearly two-month war in Iran. There is no official confirmation that the Iranians will participate in a new round of talks, but sources close to the White House report that the Iranians had requested talks with the U.S. so that they could present Iran's response to a U.S. peace offer, which has been brokered by Pakistani government officials.

Only two days ago, Trump, while extending the ceasefire indefinitely, had put a hold on a trip to Islamabad by Vice President JD Vance after the White House was told that Iran, angered by the U.S. blockade of traffic to and from Iranian ports near the Strait of Hormuz, would not send a delegation to Pakistan.

While not confirming that he would be meeting with the Americans, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived and is carrying the Iranian response to U.S. peace proposals.

Blockade Signals and Mixed Messaging

While Secretary of War Pete Hegseth declared this morning that the U.S. blockade of traffic to Iranian ports had gone global, a source close to the White House reported that Trump had communicated to the Iranians that the blockade would not be enforced, a sign of good faith, while negotiations took place.

Meanwhile, Vance, who heads the American negotiating team, is ready to fly into Islamabad "on a moment's notice," if it is thought that his presence was needed and helpful.

Debate Over Timing and Terms of a Deal

Trump had declared yesterday that he could "make a deal with Iran tomorrow," but that he did not want to be rushed into doing something hasty, when a better deal could be had.

"I don't know if the President really believes he can make a better deal," said a source with more than a half century of experience in the region. "If an acceptable deal is available now, then he should take it and end the war, and dig himself out of the mess that [Israeli Prime Minister} Bibi Netanyahu dragged him into with promises that regime change in Tehran could be had. That the Iranian people would accept war and destruction if the regime of the mullahs could be thrown out. The regime was said to be weak, and now there is talk of intense fractionalization in the leadership, with the political leaders wanting a negotiated settlement, and the theocrats and their Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps wanting to fight it out with the Americans, who they say would never last in a long bloody war.

"But the regime remains in place, and intel reports say it has more support that before the war began. Those same reports say that it is doubtful it could fall without an American invasion, and it is not certain that such a high risk and high casualty event would cause regime change."

Proposed Framework for Immediate Agreement

"The way to intensify the unrest within Iran leadership circles is to end the war," said the source. "As long as Iranians are fighting an invader or invaders, the people will support the regime. End the war, and they will question the power of those who have made Iran into a garrison state.

"I believe that Trump is right when he says he could make a deal now. You would need to keep it simple: Declare that Iran does not desire to make and deploy nuclear weapons, cite the fatwa against weapons of mass destruction; accept the longest moratorium you can get, and come back and negotiate a longer one—probably 10–15 years; have the Russians agree to hold Iran's enriched uranium; sign a non-aggression pact, which would include Israel, and have other nations such as Russia and China sign as guarantors; on the Strait of Hormuz, say its status is as it has always been under Iran's sovereign control, but given its importance Iran agrees to maintain free passage of all nations not carrying military cargo; perhaps create a regional authority to oversee its operation and improvement, which will help Iran; on signing, agree to remove Iran from all sanctions and release all seized funds.

If you can do this or most of it now, do it and stop the fighting immediately, the source stated. "I don't know if all of this can get done now. But the way you get past that and implement the critical parts of what becomes a plan is create a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which lays out an agreed-upon framework for the peace plan."

High Stakes and Urgency for Decision

Trump has blustered it is either "my plan", or he will let loose the next wave of American and Israeli bombing, which on several occasions he has said would wipe out Iranian civilization. While lunatic Christian Zionists like Hegseth might support such plans, Trump, sources report, has met with strong opposition from front-line U.S. commanders and others who worry that there is no pathway to peace after such attacks take place, creating the condition for an endless war.

Putting all the bullshit rhetoric aside, Trump must decide now if he wants peace, said the source. He can still have it, but on terms he must compromise with the Iranians: "He should have never started this war, which he now must fight to end. He must make it clear that he chooses diplomacy and not war. That to seek a peace plan is not a sign of weakness, but sanity in the age of nuclear weapons. He was asked yesterday if he would use nukes in Iran and he took offense to the question, saying that 'Nuclear weapons must never be used.' I wonder how Bibi would answer that question. The Israelis have nukes, and they would use them if they or their forces are threatened. This stupid war places such questions on the table."