WASHINGTON (Realist English). The United States and Iran remain far from reaching an agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while President Donald Trump said his patience is running out.
A drone attack on a power station in the UAE that triggered a fire has underscored the risks facing the fragile truce. The two sides continue to hold fundamentally different views on the terms of a peace settlement.
Talks deadlocked: US demands and Iran’s response
On 17 May, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social:
“For Iran, time is running out, and they better move quickly, fast, or there will be nothing left of them. Time waits for nobody!”
According to the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars, Washington has put forward five key conditions for a peace agreement, including transferring Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile to the United States, abandoning reparations claims against Tehran, and unfreezing less than a quarter of Iran’s frozen assets.
The agency did not specify its sources, while the United States has not publicly commented on the alleged demands.
Iranian agency Mehr reported that Washington had offered “no real concessions” and was instead attempting to “obtain through negotiations what it failed to achieve during the war,” a strategy that would lead to a diplomatic deadlock.
On 16 May, Trump met Vice President JD Vance, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe to discuss the conflict.
Another meeting with the national security team is expected on Tuesday, 19 May.
“We want to make a deal,” Trump told Axios, adding that he was waiting for an updated Iranian proposal.
“They are not where we want them to be. They’ll have to get there, or they’re going to be hit hard, and they don’t want that.”
Since the ceasefire began on 8 April, Trump has repeatedly threatened to resume the bombing campaign that started on 28 February.
Drone attack on UAE nuclear plant
On 17 May, a drone strike in the UAE caused a fire in an electricity generator located within the inner perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
According to Abu Dhabi’s media office, the incident did not affect radiation safety, no casualties were reported, and firefighters are working to extinguish the blaze.
The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that radiation levels at the facility remain normal and that emergency diesel generators were not damaged.
The UAE Ministry of Defence said the drone was one of three launched from the western side of the emirate. The other two were intercepted. Authorities are investigating the source of the attack.
Saudi Arabia, which borders the UAE to the west, condemned the strike.
Israel prepares for strikes as Iran seeks diplomatic exit
In Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting that he planned to discuss the Iran situation with Trump on the evening of 17 May.
Security cabinet member Ze’ev Elkin said Israel was ready to resume strikes against Iran if Trump gave the order.
“We have targets that we want to hit, of course,” Elkin told Kan radio.
“The current situation, in which the US blockade continues, is also good for Israel because it inflicts serious damage on the Iranian economy every single day.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country remained committed to a diplomatic settlement.
In recent weeks, several oil tankers have managed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and an Iranian official said authorities were working on formal legal mechanisms to allow some vessels to transit the waterway.
China factor and US sanctions
The United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, attempted to highlight areas of agreement over the Middle East conflict during Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week.
Returning from Asia, Trump told reporters he had discussed the possible lifting of sanctions on Chinese oil companies purchasing Iranian crude.
In recent weeks, the US Treasury has tightened penalties in an attempt to pressure Tehran during negotiations, while Beijing has instructed its companies to ignore the sanctions.
“I’ll make a decision in the next few days,” Trump said aboard Air Force One when asked whether sanctions might be lifted. “We did discuss it.”
In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that three Chinese tankers carrying Iranian oil through Hormuz this week were able to do so because the United States allowed it.
Iranian state television earlier reported that more than 30 vessels had passed through the strait since the evening of 13 May.
Oil market and outlook
The White House now faces a dilemma: how to reopen the strait, lower global energy prices and wind down an increasingly unpopular conflict that has triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Brent crude prices have risen by around 50% since the war began, as traders fear further escalation after Trump’s visit to China failed to produce concrete progress on plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On 16 May, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran and met with his Iranian counterpart. The two sides discussed bilateral relations and prospects for resuming US-Iran peace negotiations, for which Pakistan is acting as the main mediator.
According to Fars, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has been appointed Iran’s special envoy for China affairs.
Negotiations between Washington and Tehran have reached a dead end. Trump’s ultimatum, demands to remove enriched uranium, and refusal to fully unfreeze Iranian assets are colliding with Tehran’s hardline stance.
The drone attack on the UAE nuclear plant served as a reminder that the fragile ceasefire could collapse at any moment. Oil prices remain elevated, while the diplomatic window is rapidly narrowing.
The next few days may prove decisive.
