Analysis
A 10-day Iran-US pause may reopen talks — but neither wants to blink
As the two sides continue to trade strikes, the 10-day window could test whether diplomacy can survive battlefield pressure while neither wants negotiations to be interpreted as their retreat.
TEHRAN — Regional mediators have reportedly explored a temporary halt to hostilities between Iran and the United States, aimed at reopening diplomatic channels and reviving elements of the interim understanding reached between the two sides before the recent escalation.
Iranian officials have confirmed that mediation efforts are under way, while carefully avoiding any suggestion that Tehran is seeking relief under pressure.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Monday that proposals put forward through mediators have been "communicated to us," but declined to disclose details.
"The binary of negotiations or war is not correct," Baghaei said, arguing that "defense and diplomacy" do not contradict one another.
