New York : The United States, Iran and a set of regional intermediaries are scrambling to finalise terms for a proposed 45-day ceasefire. Multiple sources familiar with the backchannel talks told Axios that the effort is underway, but the window for a breakthrough is rapidly closing. Officials involved in the discussions indicated that the chances of even a limited agreement within the next 48 hours are very slim.
Originally set to expire Monday evening, the timeline was extended by 20 hours, with a new cutoff set for Tuesday, 8 pm ET. Trump said negotiations were ongoing and suggested a deal was still within reach, but paired that with a stark warning of sweeping military action if talks collapse. If they don’t come through, if they want to keep it closed, they’re going to lose every power plant and every other plant they have in the whole country, Trump said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Mediation efforts are being routed through Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey, alongside direct message exchanges between Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. A US official informed Axios that Washington has floated several proposals in recent days, none of which have been accepted so far by Tehran. The framework under discussion involves a two-stage arrangement. The first phase would establish a 45-day ceasefire, during which both sides would attempt to negotiate a permanent end to hostilities in Iran and across the Middle East.
The key sticking points remained unresolved. Mediators believed that a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a resolution over Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, either through removal or dilution, are likely achievable only as part of a final deal, not during the initial ceasefire phase. Iranian officials have conveyed deep scepticism, warning they do not want a repeat of situations like Gaza or Lebanon, where ceasefires have failed to prevent renewed strikes.
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