Expert says U.S.-Iran peace deal is further along, weighs in on Trump's Abraham Accords demand

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:00]And for more now on the state of play with Iran, let's bring in CBS News national security analyst Aaron Mlan, also host of the podcast School of War.

[00:00:08]Erin, great to have you on. Uh, always appreciate your insight here. So, give us a bit of a reality check. What are your sources saying about how close we are to a deal between DC and Thrron?

[00:00:18]>> Well, it does seem at this point here on Monday, early afternoon, that we are further from a deal than looked to be the case earlier this weekend. Um, you can judge that just from the atmospherics. Yesterday you had the president saying on social media that he's instructing his negotiators to take their time. And then uh this morning you had this sort of truly jarring moment where he revealed uh or or said that in his conversation with Gulf leaders and not just Gulf leaders but also the leaders of places like Turkey and Pakistan uh yesterday on the phone call with them that he had issued a a a kind of demand or request his language was ambiguous that they all join the Abraham Accords which is of course a signal diplomatic achievement of his first term linking Israel with countries like the UAE and a essentially a balancing coalition against Iran. Well, that's a pretty tall order for Saudi Arabia and Turkey just at the moment if he sets that as a condition for proceeding on this deal. So, um it looks like we're not exactly at the precipice of signing anything right now.

[00:01:16]>> So, look, Erin, we're talking about the straight of Hormuz, we're talking about nuclear powers here on the table. Um when you think about those negotiations, what are the biggest sticking points right now?

[00:01:25]Well, there does seem to be a lot of back and forth between the two sides on precisely the nature of the restrictions on the nuclear program uh and the amount of money essentially that Iran will get from the United States uh if they abide by those restrictions. Now, if if that structure money in return for Iran abiding by restrictions on its nuclear program sounds familiar, it's because it is familiar. That's the basic logic of the Obama era nuclear agreement uh with Iran and sort of a departure from the president's rhetoric which has been very strong. uh he said zero enrichment at various points. He's uh you know he's talked about dismantlement. Now in fairness, President Trump has dismantled a fair amount of the nuclear program in Iran from the air as part of military operations. Nevertheless, uh the nuclear program and then the nature of the control of the straight of Hormuz. It's not enough just to not charge tolls. If Iran maintains any level of control over the straight, that is a massive strengthening of its position since before the war.

[00:02:16]>> Okay, lots to follow here. Erin, thank you.