Photo via The Straits Times

Iran officials pessimistic about deal with US before midterms

Read the original at The Straits Times ↗
Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, September 29). Iran officials pessimistic about deal with US before midterms. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/iran-officials-pessimistic-about-deal-with-us-before-midterms

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-09-29 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

Iranian officials have expressed pessimism about reaching a deal with the United States before the upcoming US midterm elections, according to sources familiar with the matter. Recent meetings in New York during the UN General Assembly made little progress, with both sides distrustful of each other's intentions. Talks are set to continue through mediators like Pakistan and Qatar, but Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet without a US representative present on September 28th. The main issue is Iran’s reluctance to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, which the US insists must be addressed for any agreement to move forward.
Written by AI on 2026-09-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Iranian officials are pessimistic about reaching a deal to end hostilities with the US before the midterms on November 3, according to people familiar with the matter. Talks held in New York last week during the United Nations General Assembly made little progress, and Iran fears an escalation of conflict after the elections. Despite expressing willingness to pursue diplomacy, Iranian officials do not trust President Donald Trump's administration to adhere to any agreement terms. Similarly, the White House distrusts Tehran. Currently, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi remains in the US for further discussions mediated by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff.

Written for “Iran Deal Pessimism Before Midterms” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Iran Deal Pessimism Before Midterms
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 13% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Washington Examiner
Hedges 1 of 19 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles discuss different topics related to Iran's stance on two separate issues: one regarding its relationship with the Houthis and Hezbollah, and the other about reaching a deal with the US before midterms.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 4 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different stages and perspectives on Iran-US negotiations about reopening the Strait of Hormuz, not the same specific incident.”
CBS News
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different phases or perspectives on negotiations between Iran and the U.S., not a single specific incident.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 5 of 30 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different phases or outcomes related to Iran's diplomatic efforts with the US but not the exact same incident at the same time.”
Euronews
Hedges 3 of 29 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different stages and perspectives on a broader ongoing situation, not the exact same incident.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 3 of 25 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different stages of diplomatic efforts between Iran and the US, with Article A reporting on Iran's insistence on diplomacy following Trump's rejection of a peace plan, while Article B discusses Iranian officials' pessimism about reaching a deal before the US midterm elections.”
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles refer to different time periods and contexts in Iran's relationship with the US, with Article A focusing on a statement from President Pezeshkian about trust issues in talks, while Article B discusses Iranian officials' pessimism before US midterms.”
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles describe different points in time regarding Iran-US relations, with Article A reporting on Trump's immediate rejection and Iran waiting for a response, while Article B discusses subsequent pessimism about reaching a deal before US midterms.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Iran's economic and diplomatic situation without clearly referring to the same specific incident or timeframe.”
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles describe different phases or outcomes of potential negotiations between the US and Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz, with Article A focusing on an upcoming engagement this week and Article B expressing pessimism about reaching a deal before midterms.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
23
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
13%
3 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4241 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2766 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 A US judge on Nov 2 temporarily barred the Trump administration from moving ahead with a plan it says would prevent non-citizen voting, but that critics say risks disenfranchising eligible voters and infringing on states’ authority over elections.
🔮 A US judge on Nov 2 temporarily barred the Trump administration from moving ahead with a plan it says would prevent non-citizen voting, but that critics say risks disenfranchising eligible voters and infringing on states’ authority over elections.
🔮 Distance from main parties Israeli President Isaac Herzog will begin meeting this week with representatives of parties that won seats in the Oct 27 vote, to determine to which leader to give the first shot at forming a government.
🔮 “And that would happen throughout the world,” he said adding that the world had been his “support network”.
🔮 When will we know who’s won the US midterm elections?
2026-11-03 · assertive framing · When will we know who’s won the US midterm elections?
🔮 Trump will have other ideas AI generated
2026-11-03 · mixed framing · Donald the Lame Duck? Trump will have other ideas
🔮 Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right Israeli firebrand who achieved international notoriety as part of the outgoing government, fell short of expectations that he would gain ground in the latest election.
🔮 Earlier on Nov 2, US President Donald Trump raised doubts about whether he would follow through on a threatened resumption of military strikes against Iran and said a deal with Tehran could happen.
🔮 Investors nonetheless took his remarks as a sign that a fresh round of fighting between Tehran and Washington could be averted through diplomacy.
🔮 Now some of the local authorities have said they also fear that the President’s offer of a large financial incentive could foster unrest or even vigilantism, with Americans eyeing one another with suspicion as they head to the polls.
Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2766 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Iran Iranian New York TEHRAN Washington

Subjects

Iran GPE · 12× Trump PERSON · 6× Iranian NORP · 3× TEHRAN GPE · 3× Washington GPE · 3× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× New York GPE · 1× The White House ORG · 1× the Islamic Republic GPE · 1× the United Nations General Assembly ORG · 1×

Narrative

Still, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff last week, has remained in the US for more discussions that will be conducted via mediators for the warring sides, one person said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-29
🔮 Iran officials have consistently said they are willing to pursue diplomacy but do not trust the administration of US President Donald Trump to abide by the terms of any agreement.
2026-09-29 · The Straits Times
Iran officials pessimistic about deal with US before midterms · assertive framing

Claims (23 extracted, 3 hedged)

Iranian officials have privately expressed pessimism about reaching a deal to end hostilities with Washington and reopen the Strait of Hormuz before US midterm elections in November, according to people familiar with the matter. uncertain
officials → express → matter
Iran and the US made little progress during talks in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week and the Islamic Republic believes there’s a high chance of the conflict escalating after the Nov 3 vote, according to the people, some of whom were briefed by Iranian officials. uncertain
some → make → officials
They asked not to be named discussing sensitive matters. asserted
They → ask → matters
Iran officials have consistently said they are willing to pursue diplomacy but do not trust the administration of US President Donald Trump to abide by the terms of any agreement. asserted
they → say → agreement
The White House has similar feelings of distrust toward Tehran and Trump has previously said he doubts any deal can be reached before the midterms. asserted
deal → have → midterms
Still, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff last week, has remained in the US for more discussions that will be conducted via mediators for the warring sides, one person said. asserted
person → meet → sides
Talks involving Araghchi will take place on the morning of Sept 28 local time to review recent proposals and exchange views on the current situation, the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported. asserted
Agency → involve → situation
No US representative will attend the meeting, it said. asserted
it → attend → meeting
The main mediators are seeking something different from the so-called Memorandum of Understanding signed by Iran and the US in mid-June. asserted
mediators → seek → June
That led to a ceasefire and more maritime traffic flowing through Hormuz but collapsed within about a fortnight, before the sides made substantive progress on a permanent peace deal. asserted
sides → lead → deal
The MOU was widely criticised among US politicians as ceding too much to Iran financially, especially in the form of sanctions relief. asserted
MOU → criticise → relief
Iran also continued to restrict shipping in the strait and volumes remained far below pre-war levels. asserted
volumes → continue → levels
The US government has told mediators it wants Iran to make firm commitments on reopening the strait this time around and to make concessions regarding its nuclear programme, two of the people said. asserted
two → tell → people
Washington continues to have constructive discussions with Iran through mediators, but there will not be a deal unless the nuclear issues are addressed, according to one US official, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive talks. uncertain
who → continue → talks
Trump is willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release frozen funds in exchange for concrete progress on nuclear, the official said. asserted
official → give → nuclear
The spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. asserted
spokesman → respond → comment
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that negotiators are pressing Iran to compromise on its nuclear programme to revive the peace talks and placate Trump on an issue he has made a top priority. asserted
he → report → issue
In his address to the UN General Assembly last week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country isn’t seeking to build an atomic weapon but won’t give up the right to develop nuclear technology for economic purposes. asserted
country → say → purposes
Tehran says it has made an offer to reopen the strait within seven days if Washington makes certain moves. asserted
Washington → say → moves
Its leaders have previously said the US must lift a naval blockade and oil sanctions for there to be any progress on allowing more ships through the vital waterway. asserted
US → say → waterway
Trump said Sept 26 he had rejected the proposal. asserted
he → say → proposal
Oil prices rose on Sept 28 as expectations for an agreement on Hormuz faded, with Brent crude jumping 2 per cent to around US$106.20 a barrel. asserted
crude → rise → 106.20
The surge in energy prices since the US and Israel started the war in late February has hurt Trump and his Republican Party ahead of the midterm elections, in which the Democratic Party is widely expected to make gains. asserted
Party → start → gains
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support