Wall Street Journal:

By Warren P. Strobel and Alex Leary

WASHINGTON—Tensions between the U.S. and Iran appeared to ease on Friday after two weeks of crisis, as the White House tamped down talk of conflict and renewed a conditional offer to Tehran of diplomatic negotiations.

A senior administration official emphasized that President Trump is open to talks with Tehran’s leaders, but said the U.S. will continue to apply increasing economic and other pressures on Iran to cease its backing for militant groups in Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.

“We’re sitting by the phone,” the official said, acknowledging Iran has given no sign yet it is willing to talk. The two countries haven’t had diplomatic relations since shortly after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

U.S. allies in Europe, Democrats in Congress and former senior officials expressed skepticism that Iran would agree to negotiate with Mr. Trump while its economy is being subjected to economic sanctions and blistering rhetoric from Washington.

The U.S. has demanded that Iran take 12 steps, including abandoning its missile programs, withdrawing from Syria and ending support to allied groups such as Hezbollah, before it will ease sanctions.

The latest crisis began in early May, when the U.S. government received intelligence indicating that Iran or its proxies were planning attacks on American interests in the Middle East.

Mr. Trump ordered additional military power into the Middle East. This week, the State Department said it would partially withdraw U.S. diplomats from Iraq as a protective measure.

There is a dispute about how to interpret the intelligence, however, and many analysts believe Iran was preparing not a pre-emptive strike, but retaliation in case it was attacked by the U.S., people familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Trump last year pulled out of a six-nation nuclear agreement with Iran, calling it fatally flawed, and has ended direct contacts with Iran that had been revived under former President Obama.

There are currently “zero” contacts with Iran’s government, a senior State Department official told reporters this week.

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