An Iranian delegation arrived in Pakistan on Friday to hold peace talks with the United States. However, Tehran said that the talks must be held on the condition of a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of seized assets.
AFP news agency reported.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said that the Strait of Hormuz would be kept open with or without Iranian cooperation. He added that his top priority in the Islamabad talks was to ensure that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons.
In the ongoing war situation in the Middle East, Trump sent his Vice President J.D. Vance to Pakistan on Tuesday to try to reach a peace agreement after a two-week ceasefire. Vance will meet with Iranian representatives there.
On his way to Islamabad, Vance warned Iran, “If Iran wants to talk sincerely, we are ready.” But if they try to mislead us, our side will not respond positively.’ Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff are also expected to attend the meeting.
On the other hand, the head of the Iranian delegation and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has also taken a cautious stance.
After arriving in the Pakistani capital, Iranian state television quoted Ghalibaf as saying, ‘Our intentions are good, but we do not believe.’ ‘Our past experience in talks with the United States is failure and broken promises.’
Tehran has made it clear that talks will only begin if these two conditions are met: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iranian assets.
Meanwhile, Israel has said that it will hold talks with the Lebanese government in Washington next week, but will not talk about a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
After the attack on Iran on February 28, Israel launched massive airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon in response to Hezbollah’s rocket attacks. Israel also said Lebanon was not included in the US-Iran ceasefire.
According to Lebanese authorities, more than 1,950 people have been killed in weeks of fighting. More than 350 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday alone, the first day of the US-Iran ceasefire.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said it would be difficult to push Islamabad forward with the talks.
“A temporary ceasefire has been declared. But now there is a more difficult phase ahead,” he said. “Achieving a permanent ceasefire and resolving the complex issues through negotiations. This phase is called the ‘make or break’ moment.”
About a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making reopening the waterway a key issue in the talks.
Trump told reporters that the vital oil supply route would be reopened “very soon.”
“We’re going to open the Strait of Hormuz with or without them,” he said. “I think it’s going to happen pretty quickly, and if it doesn’t, we can get it done. We can get it open very soon.”
When asked what a good deal would look like, Trump said, “Iran wouldn’t have a nuclear weapon — that’s the most important thing.”
Source: BSS
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