US President Donald Trump is unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal on resolving the two-month war, a US official said, dampening hopes for a resolution to the conflict that has disrupted energy supplies, fuelled inflation, and killed thousands. Iran's latest proposal would set aside discussion of Iran's nuclear program until the war is ended and disputes over shipping from the Gulf are resolved. That is unlikely to satisfy the US, which says nuclear issues must be dealt with from the outset, and Trump was unhappy with Iran's proposal for that reason, a US official briefed on the president's Monday meeting with his advisers said, speaking on condition of anonymity. White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said the US "will not negotiate through the press" and has "been clear about our red lines" as the Trump administration looks to end the war on Iran, which began when US-Israeli strikes hit military and civilian centres, killing around 168 schoolchildren in a strike on a school. A previous agreement in 2015 between Iran and multiple other countries, including the US, sharply curtailed Iran's nuclear program, which it has long maintained is for peaceful, civilian purposes. But Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in his first term in office. Hopes of reviving peace efforts have receded since the US president scrapped a visit to Islamabad last weekend by his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. In this Pakistani capital, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shuttled in and out twice during the weekend. Read: Trump dents peace talks, but truce may hold Araghchi also visited Oman and on Monday went to Russia, where he met President Vladimir Putin and received words of support from a longstanding ally. Oil prices rise again With the warring sides still seemingly far apart, oil prices resumed their upward march, extending gains in early Asia trade on Tuesday. "For oil traders, it's not the rhetoric that matters any more, but the actual physical flow of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, and right now, that flow remains constrained," Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at City Index and FOREX.com, said in a note. At least six tankers loaded with Iranian oil have been forced back to Iran by the US blockade in recent days, ship-tracking data showed, underscoring the war's impact on traffic. Iran's foreign ministry condemned US seizures of Iran-linked tankers as "outright legalisation of piracy and armed robbery on the high seas", in a social media post. Between 125 and 140 ships usually crossed in and out of the strait daily before the war, but only seven have done so in the past day, according to Kpler ship-tracking data and satellite analysis from SynMax, and none of them was carrying oil bound for the global market. Read more: Iran signals cautious openness to dialogue With his approval ratings falling, Trump faces domestic pressure to end a war for which he has given the US public shifting rationales. Araghchi told reporters in Russia that Trump had requested negotiations because the US has not achieved any of its objectives. Senior Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the proposal carried by Araghchi to Islamabad over the weekend envisioned talks in stages, with the nuclear issue to be set aside at the start. A first step would require ending the US-Israeli war on Iran and providing guarantees that the US cannot start it up again. Then negotiators would resolve the US Navy's blockade of Iran's trade by sea and the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran aims to reopen under its control. Only then would talks look at other issues, including the current dispute over Iran's "nuclear program", with Iran still seeking US acknowledgement of its right to enrich uranium.
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