Level 1 - Absolute Beginner

Iran and the United States are at war. It started about eleven weeks ago. They are now trying to find peace.

Iran received a new peace offer from the United States. Iran is reading and thinking about this offer. The United States is waiting for Iran's answer.

Donald Trump is the President of the United States. He said the war is almost over. He said he will wait a few days for Iran to answer.

Oil prices are very high because of the war. Brent crude oil costs more than 106 dollars per barrel. A barrel is a large container used to measure oil.

peace offer

a suggestion to stop a war or conflict

review

to read and think carefully about something

barrel

a unit used to measure oil, equal to about 159 litres

conflict

a fight or war between two groups or countries

mediate

to help two sides in a disagreement reach an agreement

proposal

a plan or idea that is offered for others to consider

framework

a basic plan or set of rules used as a starting point

crude oil

natural oil taken from the ground before it is processed

Level 2 - Elementary

Iran's Foreign Ministry said on May 21, 2026, that it had received the latest US peace proposal and was reviewing it. The war between Iran and the United States began about eleven weeks earlier and has disrupted oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump said he was willing to wait a few days for Iran to respond. He described the war as being in its final stages. Trump has said he wants a deal, but insisted that Iran must stop its uranium enrichment programme.

Pakistan has been helping the two countries communicate. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has acted as a go-between for Washington and Tehran, passing messages based on Iran's original fourteen-point peace framework.

Oil prices remained high during the uncertainty. Brent crude stayed above 106 dollars a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate oil was close to 100 dollars. High oil prices affect the cost of transport, heating, and many other goods around the world.

uranium enrichment

the process of increasing the concentration of uranium to make it usable for nuclear power or weapons

Strait of Hormuz

a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that is one of the world's most important oil shipping routes

go-between

a person who carries messages between two parties who are not talking directly

disrupted

caused problems that prevented something from continuing normally

insist

to say something very firmly and refuse to change your mind

uncertainty

a state in which it is not known what will happen next

West Texas Intermediate

a key type of US crude oil used as a global price benchmark

framework

a set of basic principles or rules used as a starting point for an agreement

Level 3 - Intermediate

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed on May 21, 2026, that Tehran had received the US side's latest views and was reviewing them. The statement came as President Trump said he was prepared to wait a few days for the right answers, describing the eleven-week conflict as being in its final stages while leaving open the possibility of further military action if talks collapsed.

Pakistan has continued to serve as the key mediating channel between Washington and Tehran, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif passing messages based on Iran's original fourteen-point peace framework. That framework calls for withdrawing US forces from the region, lifting the naval blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and suspending sanctions before any nuclear discussions take place.

The central sticking point remains Iran's nuclear programme. Trump has increasingly demanded that Tehran abandon uranium enrichment entirely as part of any settlement, a red line that Iranian officials say is non-negotiable. Iran argues that enrichment is a peaceful right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that nuclear talks should happen separately from the war.

Oil markets remained tense throughout the uncertainty. Brent crude held above 106 dollars a barrel and WTI stayed close to 100 dollars, reflecting the risk premium built into prices while the Strait of Hormuz shipping corridor remained vulnerable. Economists warn that prolonged high energy prices could push inflation higher in both developed and developing economies.

red line

a limit that must not be crossed, used in diplomacy to describe a condition that cannot be compromised

nuclear programme

a country's activities related to developing nuclear energy or weapons

Non-Proliferation Treaty

an international agreement aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons

risk premium

an extra amount built into prices to reflect the possibility of a bad outcome, such as a supply disruption

sticking point

an issue in a negotiation that is difficult to resolve and is blocking an agreement

sanctions

economic penalties imposed by one country on another to force a change in behaviour

naval blockade

the use of ships to stop goods or people from entering or leaving a port or waterway

prolonged

lasting for a longer time than expected or desired

Level 4 - Advanced

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed on May 21, 2026, that Tehran had received the latest American position paper and was subjecting it to internal review, a formulation carefully calibrated to signal engagement without concession. The statement followed President Trump's characterisation of the eleven-week conflict as being in its 'final stages', language that markets and diplomatic observers read as a mix of genuine optimism and tactical pressure -- a signal that Washington is both willing to close a deal quickly and ready to walk away if terms are not met.

Pakistan continues to serve as the principal back-channel. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's team has been shuttling non-papers between the two delegations, operating within the architecture of Iran's fourteen-point framework: US force withdrawal, termination of the naval blockade on Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman approaches, unfreezing of approximately 10 billion dollars in OFAC-blocked assets, and formal sanctions suspension as prerequisites before any nuclear-file discussion. The sequencing dispute -- Tehran insisting on war settlement first, Washington demanding a nuclear concession upfront -- remains the central log-jam.

The nuclear dimension has hardened. Trump has moved from demanding a cap on enrichment to demanding full cessation, a maximalist posture that Iranian officials have publicly called non-negotiable under Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Privately, Gulf interlocutors familiar with both delegations say the gap between a permanent enrichment ban and a supervised enrichment-for-energy arrangement with enhanced IAEA snap-inspection access is where any deal, if one exists, would have to be found.

Oil markets remain tightly bid. Brent crude held above 106 dollars and WTI near 100 dollars, with the risk premium embedded in front-month contracts estimated by Goldman Sachs at 12 to 15 dollars per barrel -- implying spot prices would fall sharply on a credible framework announcement. The International Energy Agency cut its 2026 supply outlook again in May, citing ongoing Hormuz disruption, while OPEC-plus has signalled it will not increase output until the diplomatic picture clarifies. Economists at the IMF warn that every sustained 10-dollar increase in oil above 90 dollars shaves roughly 0.3 percentage points off global GDP growth.

non-paper

an unofficial diplomatic document used to explore positions without committing either party formally

log-jam

a situation in negotiations where progress is blocked by an unresolved disagreement

maximalist posture

a negotiating stance that demands the most favourable possible outcome with little room for compromise

snap inspection

an unannounced visit by inspectors, such as the IAEA, to check compliance with an agreement

OFAC

Office of Foreign Assets Control -- the US Treasury body that administers and enforces economic sanctions