Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The United States told Iran's team to leave New York. The team was at the United Nations. It included the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi.
The two countries were talking, but not face to face. Qatar helped them talk. The talks got stuck.
The US did not want to change where the next talks happen. Iran wanted a change. So the US said, "Please leave."
The team flew to Doha, the capital of Qatar. President Trump also said something strong. He said the US could attack Iran again after the November elections.
- delegation
- A group of people who go somewhere to speak for their country.
- foreign minister
- The person who leads a country's talks with other countries.
- talks
- Meetings where people try to agree on something.
- stuck
- Not able to move forward.
- capital
- The most important city of a country.
- attack
- To use weapons against someone.
- election
- A day when people vote for leaders.
- leave
- To go away from a place.
Level 2 — Elementary
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran's delegation to the UN General Assembly to leave the United States. The group included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The order came on Monday evening, after indirect talks reached a dead end.
Qatar has been passing messages between the two sides. The US said no to Iranian requests to change the format and the place of the next round of talks. The Iranian team flew to Doha early on Tuesday. Iran says it was not expelled.
Iran also says it received a US reply to its latest plan for a ceasefire. Reports say both sides mostly agree on the steps. They still disagree about which step comes first.
In an interview with TIME, President Trump said the US could start its military campaign again after the midterm elections if there is no deal. He said he did not think there could ever be peace with Iran.
- indirect talks
- Talks where a third party carries the messages.
- ceasefire
- An agreement to stop fighting.
- expelled
- Forced to leave a place or group.
- mediator
- A person or country that helps others reach an agreement.
- format
- The way something is organised.
- midterm elections
- US votes held halfway through a president's term.
- campaign
- A planned series of military actions.
- dead end
- A situation with no way forward.
Level 3 — Intermediate
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Iran's delegation to the UN General Assembly to leave the country on Monday evening, according to Axios, after Qatari-mediated indirect negotiations reached a deadlock. The group included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who flew to Doha early on Tuesday. Iran's mission disputes the claim that its members were expelled.
The impasse followed Washington's refusal to accept Iranian demands to change the format and the venue of the next round. Iranian officials said they had received an official US response to their latest proposal for ending the war, and Araghchi briefed the Tehran cabinet on it. Reports suggest the sides broadly agree on what a ceasefire requires but not on the order in which each step should be taken.
President Trump added pressure in an interview with TIME. He said the US could resume its military campaign after the midterm elections if negotiators fail to reach a satisfactory agreement, and he said he did not believe that peace with Iran was ever possible.
Reuters reported that Iran's leadership is struggling to keep up both military and economic pressure while a US blockade restricts its oil exports, and that officials fear renewed unrest at home.
- deadlock
- A situation in which neither side can make progress.
- venue
- The place where an event is held.
- mission
- A country's official office in another country.
- impasse
- A point where no progress is possible.
- blockade
- An act of closing a place to stop goods from entering or leaving.
- proposal
- A plan put forward for others to consider.
- satisfactory
- Good enough to be accepted.
- unrest
- A state of public anger and disorder.
Level 4 — Advanced
The diplomatic channel between Washington and Tehran strained further this week when Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to Axios, instructed Iran's delegation to the UN General Assembly to depart the United States on Monday evening. The contingent, which included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, flew to Doha before dawn on Tuesday, and Iran's mission rejected the characterisation that it had been expelled.
The rupture came after the American side declined Tehran's requests to alter the format and the location of the next round of Qatari-brokered indirect negotiations. Iranian officials nevertheless said they had received a formal US reply to their latest offer to end the war, and Araghchi briefed the cabinet on his return. The sides are said to agree broadly on the components of a ceasefire while remaining at odds over their sequencing, a dispute that has repeatedly defeated earlier drafts.
President Trump raised the temperature in remarks to TIME, saying Washington could resume its military campaign after the midterm elections if the talks produced no satisfactory deal, and that he doubted a durable peace with Iran was attainable at all.
Reuters, citing sources, reported that Iran's leadership is finding it hard to sustain simultaneous military and economic pressure while a US blockade squeezes oil exports, with some officials anxious about the risk of renewed domestic unrest. Tehran also carried out the executions of two young men linked to the January uprising in Mashhad on September 30.
- strained
- Made more tense or difficult.
- contingent
- A group sent to represent a larger body.
- rupture
- A sudden break in relations.
- brokered
- Arranged through the efforts of an intermediary.
- sequencing
- The order in which things are done.
- durable
- Able to last for a long time.
- attainable
- Possible to achieve.
- simultaneous
- Happening at the same time.
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