Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are urging Washington to maintain sanctions and its naval blockade of Iran, complicating efforts to restart peace talks as attacks threaten their oil exports, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Mediators including Qatar are seeking talks in Oman as early as next week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin winding down the war, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he expected the two sides to meet again soon.
While Persian Gulf countries generally oppose further US military escalation, Saudi Arabia and the UAE want Washington to withhold concessions on sanctions and the blockade.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently told US officials the blockade should remain until Iran is compelled to sign a new agreement, people familiar with the discussions told the Journal.
The position marks a shift from the summer, when Saudi Arabia and other Arab states pressed for negotiations and were prepared to consider an agreement recognizing some Iranian influence over Hormuz.
Iranian attacks on Saudi ships and Tehran’s encouragement of Houthi efforts to restrict the alternative export route through the Red Sea have since weakened confidence in Iran’s willingness to reach a deal, the report said.
UAE officials have similarly lowered expectations for negotiations, arguing that renewed violence and attacks on shipping show Tehran is in no hurry to return to diplomacy. They said Persian Gulf states should not accept permanent Iranian control of Hormuz.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, an Iran specialist at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the Journal that renewed Houthi threats, following months of disruption in Hormuz, were pushing regional governments toward compliance with US sanctions.
Oman and Qatar favor a different approach, arguing that a phased reopening of Hormuz and an end to attacks on Persian Gulf countries offer the only viable path out of a war that has already inflicted substantial regional damage.
Qatar has pursued mediation around the UN General Assembly. Iran’s foreign minister visited Doha on Sunday to discuss proposals including a seven-day pause in fighting that could lead to an end to Iranian attacks on shipping in exchange for Washington lifting its blockade.
But US officials have repeatedly told Qatar that Trump has no intention of lifting the maritime embargo, according to the report.
A White House official said sanctions and the blockade had strengthened Washington’s position. “While President Trump is open to talking with Iran under the right circumstances, he has no need to negotiate with the Iranians,” the official said.
Talks also face resistance inside Iran. Tehran fears Washington could use negotiations to delay action until after the US midterm elections before resuming attacks, while hardliners have adopted a more confrontational tone as economic pressure intensifies, the Journal reported.
Arab mediators said Iranian diplomats had offered proposals and acknowledged the worsening economic crisis, but the Revolutionary Guards had rejected new negotiating formulas and expressed readiness for a prolonged war.
The Guards, which dominate Iran’s power structure, want terms closer to the preliminary June agreement: relief from oil sanctions, access to frozen assets and recognition of an Iranian role in administering Hormuz in exchange for reopening the waterway.
Washington has told mediators it will not return to that agreement, believing sustained economic pressure will force Tehran to accept terms more favorable to the United States and its Persian Gulf partners.
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