The United States reported some progress toward a deal with Iran while stating more work is needed. Iran’s foreign ministry said differences between the sides are deep and significant. Pakistan’s military and interior officials traveled to Tehran to continue mediation efforts, and Iranian media reported meetings involving Iran’s foreign minister and Pakistan’s interior minister. Qatar also sent a negotiating team to Tehran to address key disagreements six weeks into a fragile ceasefire. Remaining sticking points include Iran’s enriched uranium and control arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz. The strait’s closure has contributed to a global energy crisis, and the US rejected Iran’s proposed tolling system for the waterway while emphasizing the need for a Plan B if reopening does not occur.
"“There's been some progress. I wouldn't exaggerate it. I wouldn't diminish it,” Mr Rubio told reporters after a meeting of Nato ministers in Helsingborg in Sweden. “There's more work to be done. We're not there yet. I hope we get there.” Mr Rubio reiterated comments made on Thursday that Iran's plans for a tolling system for the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas flows, were “unacceptable”."
"“We're dealing with a very difficult group of people, and if it doesn't change, then the president's been clear he has other options,” Mr Rubio said. He also said the US had not asked the Nato military alliance for help on the Strait of Hormuz but that there needed to be a Plan B if Iran refuses to reopen the waterway."
"Intensifying diplomacy to end the conflict, Pakistan's military chief arrived in Tehran on Friday to press on with mediation efforts, and Iranian media reported that Iran's foreign minister and Pakistan's interior minister had met there. Two days after presenting the Iranians with the latest US message in negotiations, Pakistani interior minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi held another round of talks with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported."
"Qatar also sent a negotiating team to the Iranian capital to try to resolve the sides' main differences, six weeks into a fragile ceasefire. While some gaps have been narrowed, there are still sticking points over Iran's enriched uranium and control over the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure since the start of the war has triggered a global energy crisis."
Read at Irish Independent
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