An expert on Iranian politics reviews the status of negotiations to end the war on Iran

NPR's Elissa Nadworny talks to Mehrzad Boroujerdi of the Missouri University of Science and Technology about the status of the Trump Administration's negotiations to end the war on Iran. ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST: We're entering the 11th week of war with Iran now. The status of the ceasefire as well as the negotiations are up in the air. Here is what we know. Iran continues to block the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. continues to blockade their blockade. Iran and the U.S. also exchanged fire in the strait in recent days. And as far as the negotiations go, Iran has been reviewing a Trump administration proposal for several days now. It has yet to issue a response. Mehrzad Boroujerdi is vice provost and dean of the College of Arts and Science and Education at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He joins us now. Mehrzad, thanks for being here. MEHRZAD BOROUJERDI: Thanks for having me. NADWORNY: So we don't have details on the U.S. offer just yet, but going into this week, do Iran and the U.S. seem any closer to a deal? BOROUJERDI: I think the two sides are closer, but it's still unclear if and when they will cross the finish line. In the meantime, they are trading fires in the Persian Gulf. My sense is that, you know, we have moved away from the sort of maximalist demands that were articulated in the earlier stages of this war, you know, such as unconditional surrender of Iran or, you know, doing away with its missiles, etc. …