Iran Signals Urgency, Pushes for a ‘Dignified’ Deal: Washington Now

The US and Iran are in a final bout of brinkmanship over a peace agreement, but multiple signs suggest the two sides are moving closer to a substantive deal.

The Wall Street Journal reported on May 25 that Iran brushed aside the issue at the negotiating table on May 26 even after several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, personnel were killed in clashes with US Central Command, or CENTCOM. US forces struck a mine-laying vessel near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s negotiating team, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, returned to Tehran that day after talks in Qatar on the release of Iran’s frozen assets. The Journal, citing Iranian officials and Arab mediators, said Tehran delayed announcing the IRGC deaths to keep negotiations on track. President Masoud Pezeshkian also spoke that day with Middle East leaders including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi about signing a memorandum of understanding for a peace agreement.

In a call with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who is mediating the talks, Pezeshkian stressed Iran’s willingness to reach a “dignified” agreement. According to the Iranian presidency, he thanked Qatar for its support and “continuous and constructive efforts” in the peace process, while underscoring Iran’s readiness to move toward a “dignified framework” to end regional tensions. He added that “now it is time for the other side, the United States, to show its will.”

Iranian media have neither reported casualties from the clashes nor sharply criticized the US. They have also refrained from countering remarks by President Donald Trump and others on disposing of enriched uranium. That marks a shift from Iran’s earlier stance that enriched uranium was a matter of sovereignty. Instead, Iranian outlets are emphasizing the economic benefits that could come from talks with Washington. Fars News Agency wrote that “Iran negotiates with Washington only when there are tangible economic gains.”

Iran’s domestic economy is worsening as heavy airstrikes destroy key infrastructure and choke off exports. Fatigue is also mounting from the large public rallies that have continued day after day.

Extreme inflation is causing prices to change constantly. Iranian media have been reporting daily on announcements by merchant groups aimed at controlling prices for key goods, as well as the government’s enforcement plans. A spokesperson for Iran’s Food and Drug Administration told Tasnim News Agency that fixed prices can no longer be printed on medicine packaging because of swings in exchange rates and raw-material costs, and that consumers can scan barcodes to check government-approved prices in real time. In an effort to calm public sentiment, the Iranian government also restored international internet access that day after blocking it since the outbreak of the war in late February.

Trump is scheduled to hold a Cabinet meeting at the White House on the morning of May 27 to discuss Iran’s request to release frozen assets and related issues. He had originally planned to convene the meeting at Camp David, citing its historical symbolism, but changed the venue because of bad weather. Trump also held a meeting at Camp David before striking Iran’s nuclear facilities in June 2025. In a Truth Social post that day, he announced the venue change, writing that “the journey to Camp David has been postponed for a while.”

As prospects for a deal improve, Israel is intensifying airstrikes in Lebanon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, had deployed large ground forces to seize strategic positions and that the troops were operating “deep inside” the area. The IDF is reported to have begun ground operations in key parts of Lebanon that day, crossing beyond the self-declared “Yellow Line” it had set in southern Lebanon.

Lee Sang-eun, Washington correspondent, Hankyung.com, selee@hankyung.com