Politics
What’s included in talks to end the Iran war and reopen Hormuz?
With the standoff over the frozen Iran war threatening a global economic meltdown, Washington and Tehran have scaled back their efforts to agree a comprehensive peace deal and now seek a limited pact putting off the harder issues.
This is what we know about the proposals under discussion and where they leave the big unresolved disputes behind the war:
At what stage are the discussions?
Sources in both camps have said the latest peace efforts are aimed at a temporary memorandum of understanding to halt the war and allow traffic through the Strait of Hormuz while they discuss a fuller deal.
The proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement.
Gaps remain even on this limited plan, sources have said. Any wider deal would have to address intractable disputes such as Iran’s nuclear programme. The last deal over the nuclear programme — struck in 2015 and torn up by Trump in 2018 — took years of negotiations between large teams of technical experts.
What are the main issues?
Ending the war — US President Donald Trump says the war is near an end and can be resolved by Iran accepting terms. Iran does not trust him or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Iranian officials point to their decision to attack in February despite a ceasefire that ended a previous US -Israeli air campaign last year. Both conflicts were launched unannounced during efforts to resolve issues diplomatically. Tehran also cites Israeli attacks during ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon as reasons to believe a truce will not hold and wants some form of external guarantee.
Hormuz and Gulf blockade — Tehran sees its control of Hormuz and Washington views its blockade of Iranian ports as their chief points of leverage. But both sides are hurting. Iran’s economy faces catastrophe, and its inability to export oil may mean a storage crunch and output cuts. Its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, meanwhile, is causing a worldwide energy crisis months before US midterm elections. Iran wants formal recognition of its control over Hormuz, though this would be opposed internationally.
Nuclear — the United States believes Iran wants to build a nuclear bomb. Iran has always denied this, saying its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes only. The focus is on its enrichment of uranium, which generates fuel for nuclear power but can also make material for a warhead. Washington wants Iran to give up its right to enrichment for 20 years and hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. Iran wants its right to enrichment to be recognised. An agreement may eventually be possible including a years-long moratorium on enrichment and the export of its highly enriched uranium, but that still looks far off.
Ballistic missile — One main US demand before the war was for Iran to limit the range of its ballistic missiles so that they could not reach Israel. It says its war has succeeded in degrading Iran’s missile stocks, and it is not clear whether it would continue to insist on range limits in a bigger peace deal. Iran has always refused to discuss its ballistic missiles, saying its right to conventional weapons cannot be on the table and that it still has a large arsenal.
Sanction and frozen assets — Iran’s economy has been hurt by sanctions for years, contributing to the nationwide unrest in January. Tehran badly needs them to be lifted and frozen assets to be released. It also wants reparations for war damage, though there seems no chance now of the US agreeing to this, and it is not clear if it would stick to the demand as a condition for a deal.
Iran has previously said Israel’s war against its ally Hezbollah in Lebanon must be included in any peace deal. Israel rejects this, and it is not clear how far Iran would insist on it in future talks.
What do Israel and Gulf states think?
Israel is not directly involved in the peace effort. Netanyahu was eager to continue the war and would also be loath to subject Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah to a deal between Washington and Tehran.
Gulf states are not united on how to end the conflict. They have been targeted by Iran throughout the war and would oppose a deal that left Iran able to keep hitting them or impose controls on the Strait of Hormuz — their main trade route. They may fear that Washington will not prioritise their needs and concerns in talks.
Could European states, China or Russian play a role?
European states have their own sanctions on Iran and would want to be involved in any deal aimed at resolving the nuclear dispute. France, Germany and Britain were closely involved in the 2015 deal. European countries have offered to take a role in securing free passage in Hormuz after the war.
China is a major buyer of Gulf oil transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran may hope it would agree to be a guarantor in any deal, but it has given no indication it would want such a role.
Iran may also want Russia to play a role in any eventual agreement over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, though it is not clear if Washington would accept that.
- Congress gains Muslim voter support in recent elections.
- BJP consolidates Hindu base, say analysts.
- Adhikari calls BJP’s wins in Assam, West Bengal victory of Hindutva.
PM Modi’s BJP didn’t field Muslim candidates in key states, cites Hindu voter backing for wins
NEW DELHI: India’s main opposition Congress party drew increasingly strong backing from Muslim voters while Hindus overwhelmingly voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party, results from recent elections in four states have shown.
This voter trend highlights hardening religious polarisation in the officially secular nation, and the deep-seated ideological division between India’s two biggest political parties, analysts and political commentators say.
Modi adopted an unabashedly pro-Hindu platform to take power in 2014, and his Bharatiya Janata Party largely follows a Hindu-first ideology called Hindutva. Such voter fragmentation helps expand its dominance across the country because Hindus are nearly 80% of India’s 1.42 billion people compared with about 14% Muslims.
“The rise of the BJP has led to a consolidation of Muslim voters behind so‑called secular parties, particularly the Congress – a form of reverse polarisation is taking place,” said political analyst Rasheed Kidwai, visiting fellow with the Observer Research Foundation.
Muslim leaders and analysts say voters from that community are increasingly choosing Congress or other strong regional parties over smaller parties that focus on their interests but have struggled to be part of any governments in recent years.
Congress fared poorly in the elections held last month across four states and one federal territory, with results declared this week. Its alliance secured control of only one state, while a BJP-led coalition won three and a new regional outfit took the remaining contest.
The Muslim support for Congress was most evident in the BJP-ruled northeastern state of Assam, where 18 of its 19 newly elected lawmakers are from the community, up from roughly 16 in the previous assembly. The party had fielded 20 Muslim candidates and about 80 non-Muslims for the 126-member legislature, in which the BJP won 82 seats.
The Assam-based All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), which mainly draws Muslim support, saw its tally collapse to just two seats from 16 five years earlier.
In neighbouring West Bengal, which the BJP won for the first time with 207 lawmakers in a 294-member assembly, the two Congress legislators elected were Muslims.
The BJP did not field any Muslim candidates in either Assam or West Bengal. Party leaders in both states, including the prospective chief minister of Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, credited the victories to support from Hindu voters.
“It was a victory for Hindutva,” Adhikari said.
Reverse polarisation
“In the future – depending on local political dynamics – if Muslim voters increasingly consolidate behind Congress, dominant Hindu voters may also regroup more strongly around the BJP,” said political columnist Radhika Ramaseshan.
Congress has capitalised on the fear and insecurity felt by many Muslim voters under BJP rule where they feel marginalised and their citizenship questioned, said Badruddin Ajmal, chief of the AIUDF in Assam.
“The argument being made is that only a party with the strength to fight the BJP at the centre can ultimately address these concerns. This is not true but voters believe it because they are scared.”
After the BJP accused Congress of becoming a “new Muslim League”, Congress said Muslims account for about 12% of its 664 state legislators nationwide, compared with roughly 78% who are Hindus, in line with India’s religious makeup.
“I am embarrassed to talk about these things in the 21st century,” said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, stressing that his party, which has ruled India for 54 years since independence in 1947, had broad support.
“We have always stood by the weak and the oppressed and will continue to do so, irrespective of their religion and caste.”
The BJP too has often reached out to Muslim voters, although it did not field any Muslim candidate in the 2024 general election.
Modi however has denied playing the religious card to win votes.
“The day I start talking about Hindu-Muslim (in politics) will be the day I lose my ability to lead a public life,” he said while filing his candidature to the election two years ago. “I will not do Hindu-Muslim. That is my resolve.”
But Ramaseshan, the columnist, said communal rhetoric, especially closer to elections, has become much more marked under Modi than in past BJP regimes.
“The BJP and the larger Sangh (the party’s ideological parent) are shaping a new idea of India as a ‘Hindu rashtra (nation)’ — and that narrative has increasingly embedded itself in public consciousness,” she said. “In the years ahead, we may see a complete overturning of the very idea of India.”
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Thursday announced the birth of her second child — a girl named Viviana — just days after delaying her maternity leave following an alleged assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.
“On May 1st, Viviana aka ‘Vivi’ joined our family, and our hearts instantly exploded with love,” Leavitt, who at 28 is the youngest White House press secretary in history, said on X.
“She is perfect and healthy, and her big brother is joyfully adjusting to life with his new baby sister. We are enjoying every moment in our blissful newborn bubble.”
Trump’s spokesperson — who is best known for her acid put-downs of journalists — posted a picture of herself in a nursery, cradling her baby daughter to her chest.
Leavitt had announced that she was taking maternity leave on April 24.
But her last day in the briefing room ended up being on April 28, after a gunman tried to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner.
That echoed the birth of her son Nicholas in summer 2024, when she returned to work on Trump´s campaign just days later following an assassination attempt against the then Republican candidate at Butler, Pennsylvania.
Leavitt thanked people who had “reached out with prayers during my pregnancy”, adding: “I truly felt them throughout the entire experience. God is Good.”
The White House has not named an official replacement for Leavitt but Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepped into her shoes earlier this week, winning positive reviews with a relaxed performance at the podium.
President Masoud Pezeshkian has described his recent meeting with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, highlighting the atmosphere of the gathering and the Leader’s personal, ethical, and managerial qualities.
Speaking during a visit to the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade on Wednesday, Pezeshkian described the meeting as having taken place in a warm and sincere atmosphere, with discussions lasting nearly two and a half hours.
President Pezeshkian stated that what stood out more than any other issue was the Leader’s humble, deeply sincere, and respectful manner of engagement — an approach that transformed the discussion into an environment built on trust, calm, empathy, and direct dialogue.
The President further emphasized the need to strengthen cohesion, trust, and empathy at all levels of the country’s administrative management.
He noted that when the highest-ranking official of the country interacts with officials and individuals with such ethical character, humility, and a people-oriented spirit, that behavior naturally serves as a model for the nation’s administrative and managerial system.
This model, he added, is based on responsibility, closeness to the people, and truly listening to issues and problems, in keeping with the practice and conduct of the martyred and great Leader of the Islamic Revolution.
According to the President, the Leader attended the meeting with precisely the same spirit of simplicity, humility, sincerity, and mutual respect — a spirit that made the conversation completely direct, frank, and accompanied by a sense of closeness and trust.
Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed Leader of the Islamic Revolution shortly after the martyrdom of his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated in a terrorist aggression by the United States and Israel.
The unprovoked attack on February 28 touched off days of barbaric bombing of Iran’s military and civilian infrastructure, intended to bring down the Islamic Republic following violent riots in which foreign-linked armed elements brutally attacked police, security forces and public service personnel.
What was expected to last only a few days until the fall of the Islamic Republic instead stretched into 41 days. During that time, Iran responded with fierce intensity, launching drone and missile strikes at US and Israeli targets—ultimately forcing both regimes to announce a unilateral ceasefire that remains in effect to this day.
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