Diplomacy
Peace proposals
- activeEuropean Union Foreign Affairs Council (HRVP-driven)1/28/2025
EU comprehensive sanctions-for-de-escalation matrix
An EU-internal framework pairing specific Iranian de-escalation actions to specific reversible sanctions relief — e.g. release of detained EU nationals → travel-ban delisting for 12 named individuals; halt of attacks on European-flagged vessels → relisting permits for two state-owned shipping firms; suspension of weapons transfers to Russia → relisting permits for non-strategic banking corridors. Each pairing is automatic, time-limited, and snapback-eligible.
- stalledRepublic of Iraq (Prime Minister al-Sudani initiative)11/12/2024
Iraq militia disengagement protocol
Iraqi-government-led protocol asking Iran-aligned Popular Mobilisation Forces militias to halt all rocket and drone attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria in exchange for an accelerated US drawdown timeline and integration of approved PMF units into the regular Iraqi Security Forces command structure. Aims to remove Iraq as a battlefield between US and Iran.
- activeUnited Nations Security Council (France-drafted)10/8/2024
Enhanced UNIFIL buffer (Israel-Lebanon)
Proposal to expand UNIFIL's Resolution 1701 mandate to include monitoring of Hezbollah heavy weapons north of the Litani River, with a phased Israeli withdrawal from the disputed Shebaa Farms tied to verified Hezbollah weapons withdrawal. Adds a Lebanese Armed Forces deployment quota and a maritime monitoring component for the Israel-Lebanon gas-field boundary.
- activeG7 Energy Ministers; International Energy Agency (Secretariat coordination)9/30/2024
G7-IEA Strategic Petroleum Reserve coordination framework
A non-binding framework setting trigger thresholds and release sizes for coordinated G7/IEA Strategic Petroleum Reserve drawdowns in response to Hormuz disruptions. Pre-commits to a tiered response — 30M bbl release if Brent breaches $110, 60M bbl at $130, full coordinated drawdown at sustained $150+ — and includes a re-fill commitment when prices stabilise below $90.
- stalledRussian Federation; People's Republic of China (joint proposal)6/20/2024
Iran nuclear 'freeze for freeze' interim framework
A two-phase interim framework proposing Iran cap enrichment at 60% (no further increase, no weaponisation steps) in exchange for partial US/EU sanctions relief — specifically lifting of secondary sanctions on Iranian oil exports to non-Western buyers and unfreezing $6B in South Korean accounts. Explicitly framed as a holding pattern, not a final settlement, with a 12-month sunset.
- activeSultanate of Oman (mediator); Saudi Arabia; Houthi delegation4/22/2024
Houthi-Saudi normalisation roadmap (Oman-mediated)
An Oman-mediated extension of the lapsed 2022 Yemen truce framework, proposing a phased Saudi-Houthi normalisation: prisoner exchange, reopening of Sanaa airport civilian flights, payment of Yemen public-sector salaries from oil revenue, and a Houthi commitment to halt cross-border drone and missile attacks into Saudi territory. Sidesteps the unresolved internal Yemeni political question.
- stalledSultanate of Oman; United Arab Emirates (co-sponsors)2/15/2024
Hormuz Maritime Safety Pact
A regional freedom-of-navigation framework for the Strait of Hormuz proposing standing communications channels between IRGC Navy and Gulf coastal states' navies, advance notification for inspections, and an Oman-hosted incident-resolution panel. Designed to prevent escalation from one-off boardings without addressing underlying political tensions.
- activePeople's Republic of China (mediator); Saudi Arabia; Iran3/10/2023
Saudi-Iran normalisation (Beijing-brokered)
Tripartite agreement announced in Beijing on 10 March 2023 restoring diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran after a seven-year break. Embassies have reopened. The framework has held despite later regional crises and is the largest single piece of intra-regional de-escalation diplomacy of the period.
- activeUnited Nations (Office of the Special Envoy for Yemen)4/2/2022
Yemen truce framework (April 2022 UN-brokered)
UN-brokered two-month truce in Yemen, repeatedly renewed and informally extended in subsequent agreements. The truce framework reduced cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE and produced the most sustained period of reduced violence in the Yemen conflict since 2015. Subsequent agreements between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have built on this base.
- stalledGulf Cooperation Council (multiple framings)9/1/2021
GCC-Iran maritime de-escalation dialogue
Series of intermittent dialogues between Gulf Cooperation Council members and Iran on maritime security in the Persian Gulf and approaches to the Strait of Hormuz. Specific initiatives have come from Iran (the "Hormuz Peace Endeavour"), from the UAE and Oman bilaterally, and from broader GCC frameworks. None have produced a binding regional security architecture; the dialogues have reduced tactical incidents.
- stalledE3 (UK, France, Germany) with EU as coordinator4/6/2021
JCPOA revival framework (E3 + US + Iran talks)
Diplomatic track aimed at restoring the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action after the 2018 US withdrawal. Multiple rounds held in Vienna and Doha from 2021 onward; technical agreement was reportedly close at several points but never finalised. The architecture continues to anchor most subsequent nuclear-track diplomacy.
- supersededUN Security Council7/20/2015
UN Security Council Resolution 2231 monitoring framework
UNSC Resolution 2231 endorsed the JCPOA and established the framework for monitoring Iranian compliance, including provisions for a snapback mechanism. The substantive sanctions architecture under this resolution has expired in stages; the monitoring obligations and the political process around it remain in active dispute.
- activeSultanate of Oman (mediator)3/1/2013
Oman-mediated US-Iran backchannel
Long-running discreet mediation channel between Washington and Tehran hosted by Muscat since at least early 2013. The channel produced the secret talks that fed into the JCPOA and has been reactivated repeatedly during subsequent crises. Specific topics rotate; the channel itself is durable.
- activeInternational Atomic Energy Agency12/18/2003
IAEA-Iran safeguards cooperation framework
The IAEA-Iran safeguards relationship rests on the 1974 Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, the 2003 Additional Protocol (signed but not ratified by Iran), and a series of supplementary cooperation agreements covering inspection access. The depth of cooperation has varied substantially over time; the framework itself remains the canonical channel for monitoring the Iranian nuclear programme.