But a fresh report in the NY Times suggests that progress is being made on nuclear enrichment. While the report is perhaps dubious - given the number of times the claim of 'progress in talks' has been floated:

Iran is reviewing a set of proposals presented by mediators that could shape the future of its nuclear program, according to five officials briefed on the negotiations, representing a potential breakthrough in stalled diplomatic efforts to end its war with the United States.

Iran's willingness to re-engage in nuclear talks, after weeks of refusing to budge, suggests recent mediation efforts led by Qatar to prevent a return to full-blown war have had some success, the officials said. They described the terms being reviewed as "concrete proposals," without elaborating.

The Iranian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The five officials, including an American and two Iranians, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details of the talks.

Qatar has spearheaded a diplomatic blitz with Iran in the past week, the officials added, participating in two rounds of talks in Tehran and hosting a third in Doha. Two of them said that the Qataris have also held recent talks with Iranian officials in Armenia.

The NYT Times headline has resulted in oil prices fall lower on Thursday.

In a significant albeit underreported development for global energy, and for the US-Iran standoff in the Persian Gulf, Iranian parliament has this week announced it is exempting several key trading partniers from its oil transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz.

The move was first unvieled Tuesday by Ahmad Hayat-Moghaddam, Vice Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, at a moment Iranian export flows are struggling under the many months-long US naval blockade of the country's ports.

"We have currently exempted India, China, Iraq and Qatar from transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz. Ships from these countries pass freely," Hayat-Moghaddam stated in an interview to the Iranian Student's News Agency (SNA).