TEHRAN: Iran questioned the seriousness of US diplomacy on Saturday in the wake of renewed naval clashes in the Gulf, while keeping Washington waiting for a response to its latest negotiating position.
US President Donald Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting Iran’s answer to Washington’s latest proposal for a deal “supposedly tonight”.
But if Iran sent Pakistani mediators a response, there was no public sign of it, and Tehran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called into question the reliability of the US leadership in a call with his Turkish counterpart.
“The recent escalation of tensions by American forces in the Persian Gulf and their numerous actions in violating the ceasefire have added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy,” he said, according to an Iranian account of the call published by the ISNA news agency.
In an incident on Friday, a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its blockade of Iran’s ports. An Iranian military official told local media the navy had responded with strikes.
That incident followed another flare-up the night before in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international sea lane that Iran is seeking to control in order to extract tolls and wield economic leverage over the US and its allies.
The US says it is unacceptable for Tehran to control the key oil route.
Washington has sent Iran, via Pakistani mediators, a proposal to extend the truce in the Gulf to allow for talks on a final settlement of the conflict, launched 10 weeks ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
A reporter for French broadcaster LCI, Margot Haddad, said Saturday that Trump had told her in a brief interview he still expected to find out Iran’s answer “very soon”.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said Friday that the proposal was still “under review”.