The Iranian and U.S. flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022.— Reuters
US and Iranian officials separately engaged with mediators on Monday as diplomatic efforts gained fresh momentum to bring an end to the seven-month conflict, officials from both sides said.
The latest contacts are expected to centre on a revised version of a seven-day proposal put forward by Tehran on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly last week, according to an official familiar with the negotiations who spoke to Reuters.
The conflict erupted in late February after US and Israeli strikes on Iran and has since killed thousands of people, while disrupting global energy markets as key waterways used for oil shipments remained severely restricted.
The US and Iran have twice previously agreed to ceasefires in mediated peace talks, in April and June. Those agreements quickly unravelled.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who remained in New York after attending the General Assembly, said Iran expected to receive the US response to its latest ceasefire proposals and its conditions for restoring passage of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA.
“If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have presented that solution,” Araghchi said.
US officials separately spoke with mediators on Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving further details.
Trump signals further talks with Iran this week
Iran’s seven-day plan envisages an end to all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran would then allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil tankers, and the two sides would also resume talks on Iran’s nuclear program and Trump’s wish to seize or eliminate its highly enriched uranium.
Trump said on Saturday he had rejected Iran’s proposal, saying Iran wanted a swift agreement because of the crippling economic pressure it is under. However, he also told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to engage in further talks this week.
Araghchi said on Sunday that mediators had not formally conveyed a US rejection, and that Iran was awaiting Washington’s definitive position before deciding its next steps.
“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” he said on Sunday, adding that only a negotiated solution could resolve the impasse.