Iran Sends Fresh Proposal To Pakistani Mediators For Negotiations With US, Says State Media

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Iran on Friday (local time) has sent a fresh proposal for negotiations with the United States to Pakistani mediators, state-run news agency IRNA reported, in a move that could improve prospects for breaking an impasse between the two sides in efforts to end the war.

While the state-run news agency did not reveal any other details, global oil prices, which have seen a steep increase ever since Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, dropped after the news broke, Reuters reported.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which transports roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies, has rattled the global energy markets, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) describing the crisis as one of the worst energy crises in history.

US-Iran peace talks

It was not immediately clear if the Pakistani mediators had passed on the proposal to Washington yet.

The latest proposal comes days after the Islamic Republic sent another proposal to Washington via Pakistani mediators. The logjam between the two sides has continued ever since the first round of talks failed in Pakistan's capital city, Islamabad, on April 11-12. The negotiations, which were held for over 21 hours, concluded without an agreement, with both sides accusing each other. While Washington said that Tehran chose not to accept its terms, Tehran accused Washington of making excessive demands.

The second round of talks, which was slated to take place possibly a week after the first round, never really occurred, after US President Donald Trump enforced a naval blockade of Iranian ports as the Islamic Republic continued to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut. The blockade, which was put in place on April 13, has been in place since and has been cited as the reason for Tehran not engaging in talks with the US anymore.

While Trump said the blockade wouldn't be removed until an agreement is finalised, Tehran has said it won't come to the negotiating table. Last week, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was in Pakistan and met with his counterpart in Islamabad. Following the news of his arrival in Pakistan, the Trump team was gearing up to leave for Islamabad; however, Araghchi left Islamabad shortly before the US team departed from Washington, signalling that the logjam continued.

Iran ready to resume diplomacy: President

On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Tehran is ready to resume diplomacy with Washington, provided that the latter drops its "maximalist" demands and stops its "maritime piracy" against Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf, IRNA reported.

Pezeshkian made these remarks in a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and said that Washington and Tel Aviv have 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 safeguarded nuclear facilities.

This is a developing story. More details awaited.

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