Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the United States-Israeli war with Iran receded as a new week began, with talks aimed at ending the two-month conflict at a standstill and both Tehran and Washington showing little willingness to soften their terms.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left mediator Pakistan empty-handed at the weekend, and US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The deadlock leaves the world’s biggest economy and a major oil power locked in a confrontation that has already pushed energy prices to multi-year highs, stoked inflation and darkened global growth prospects.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone Tehran would not enter "imposed negotiations" under threats or blockade, according to a statement from the Iranian government.
Pezeshkian said the US should first remove "operational obstacles", including its blockade on Iranian ports, before negotiators could lay any groundwork to resolve the conflict.
An Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad said Tehran would not accept "maximalist demands" from the US. Trump told reporters in Florida he scrapped the envoys’ visit because the talks involved too much travel and expense to consider an inadequate offer from the Iranians. After the diplomatic trip was called off, Iran "offered a lot, but not enough", Trump said.
Pezeshkian said on Friday there were "no hardliners or moderates" in Tehran and the country stood united behind its supreme leader. Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, and Araqchi echoed the message in recent days.
Tehran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, while Washington is blocking Iran’s oil exports.
The US-Iran conflict, in which a ceasefire is in force, began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran has since struck Israel, US bases and Gulf states.
• US naval forces intercepted a sanctioned vessel in the Arabian Sea yesterday as part of the Trump administration’s blockade of Iranian energy exports, US Central Command said.
The US deployed a navy helicopter to intercept MV Sevan, which subsequently complied with a direction to turn back to Iran under escort. — Reuters/Bloomberg News
