Iran on Friday (local time) sent a new proposal to Pakistani mediators for talks with the United States, state news agency IRNA reported, in a move that could improve prospects for breaking the deadlock between the two sides in an effort to end the war.
While the state news agency did not reveal any further details, global oil prices, which have seen a sharp rise since Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, fell after the report, Reuters reported.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas reserves, has rocked global energy markets, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) calling the crisis one of the worst energy crises in history.
Peace talks between the US and Iran
It was not immediately clear whether Pakistani mediators had already forwarded the proposal to Washington.
The latest proposal comes days after the Islamic Republic sent another proposal to Washington through Pakistani intermediaries. The dispute between the two sides has continued since the first round of talks broke down in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on April 11-12. The negotiations, which lasted over 21 hours, ended without an agreement and both sides blamed each other. While Washington said Tehran had decided not to accept its terms, Tehran accused Washington of making excessive demands.
A second round of talks, which was supposed to take place perhaps a week after the first round, never actually took place after US President Donald Trump imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports as the Islamic Republic continued to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. The blockade, which was imposed on April 13, has been in place ever since and is cited as the reason Tehran is no longer engaging in talks with the US.
While Trump said the blockade would not be lifted until a deal was struck, Tehran said it would not come to the negotiating table. Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Pakistan and met his counterpart in Islamabad. Following news of his arrival in Pakistan, Trump’s team was preparing to leave for Islamabad; however, Araghchi left Islamabad shortly before the American team left Washington, signaling that the logjam was continuing.
US and Israel considering military action?
The development of Tehran sending the new proposal comes a day after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a warning that Tel Aviv could resume military strikes against Iran after it reportedly received 6,500 tons of military equipment from the US. Katz’s warning coincided with a 45-minute briefing chaired by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) with Trump and hinted at renewed military strikes against Tehran.
Iran ready to resume diplomacy: president
On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was ready to resume diplomacy with Washington provided Washington drops its “maximalist” demands and stops its “maritime piracy” against Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf, IRNA reported.
Pezeshkian made the remarks in a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, saying Washington and Tel Aviv committed war crimes against Iran during the recent war of aggression by assassinating the leader of the Islamic Revolution and senior political and military officials and attacking key public infrastructure, including schools, hospitals and secure nuclear facilities.
