TEHRAN (The Thursday Times) — Contacts between Iran and the United States on ending their eight-month war are continuing through mediators, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday, after days of Iranian talks with Qatari mediators ended with altered proposals but no breakthrough.
“I can tell you that the dialogues are continuing. However, the issue is complex,” foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
He said the talks were still based on the seven-step plan Iran submitted in September, which President Donald Trump rejected at the time. “The basis of dialogue and talks between Iran and the US via mediators is still Iran’s seven-steps proposal, which is now condensed, making it possible to implement it within two days,” he said.
The plan calls for the United States to end its blockade of Iranian ports, Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a US waiver on Iranian oil sales and the cancellation of new sanctions, followed by talks on other issues. Baghaei said condensing it did not change Iran’s position that nuclear talks could resume only after it had verified that all its conditions were met. Asked whether Iran might agree to transfer its highly enriched uranium stockpile abroad, he said no.
An official briefed on the talks said Iran’s negotiators left on Sunday, but not because of any problems, and that a draft proposal was being circulated. Iranian sources said they still believed a new US attack was more likely than a deal.
China and Russia warn against new strikes
Fears are growing that the conflict could reignite after Tuesday’s US midterm elections. Trump has repeatedly said there would be no new attack before the vote, and Iran has said it would respond aggressively to any resumed strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed Trump on the matter in a call at the weekend, officials have said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday, after meeting senior Iranian security official Ali Bagheri Kani in Beijing, that all sides should focus on political solutions rather than resorting to arms again. Russia’s foreign ministry said reports of new military action against Iran were a cause for extreme concern and called for more diplomacy.
Oil prices fell nearly 4 per cent on Monday on hopes for the mediation. A Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker was struck in the Gulf by unidentified objects on Friday, its operator Nakilat said on Sunday.
