Iran has promised to end its occupation of the Strait of Hormuz if nuclear talks are postponed, officials said
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Iranian sources on Monday revealed Tehran’s latest proposal to bridge the gap with the US over the global naval crisis caused by the war that began two months ago, which would have advanced broader talks on Iran’s nuclear program until later.
That proposal is unlikely to satisfy Washington, which says the nuclear issue must be resolved from the outset. Although the ceasefire halted US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on Feb. 28, no agreement has been reached on terms to end the war that has killed thousands, driven up oil prices, fueled inflation and dimmed the world’s growth outlook.
US President Donald Trump canceled the trip to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, of his envoys Steve Witfkoff and Jared Kushner over the weekend for talks with Iran mediated by Pakistan, saying Iran should make a phone call if it wants a deal.
“They know what should be in the agreement. It’s very simple: They can’t have a nuclear weapon; otherwise, there’s no reason to meet,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who was to attend the talks in Pakistan, arrived on Monday in Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin, who is a veteran.
Senior Iranian sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the proposal taken by Araqchi to Islamabad over the weekend was aimed at phased talks.
Day 69:39How the Strait of Hormuz shapes everything from the cost of groceries to the availability of airline tickets
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway that runs between Iran and Oman. At its widest point it is 100 kilometers wide and is the only sea route to get anything, including oil, from the Persian Gulf to the open sea. Sal Mercogliano, a former merchant sailor who teaches maritime history courses and runs the YouTube channel What’s going on With Shipping, explains how this small place has had such an outsized influence on the world.
The first step would be to end the US-Israeli war in Iran and provide assurances that Washington cannot start it again. After that, the talks will resolve the US blockade and the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran intends to reopen under its control.
Only then will the talks turn to other issues, including the long-running dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, as Iran is still seeking some form of US recognition of its right to enrich uranium for what it says is peaceful purposes.
In a sign that no face-to-face meetings are planned anytime soon, streets have reopened in Islamabad that had been closed for a week in anticipation of talks that never materialized. A luxury hotel that was released to serve as a venue also took reservations from the public.
Pakistani officials said talks were ongoing, but there were no plans to convene an in-person meeting until the sides were close enough to sign a memorandum.
Iran has largely blocked all but its own shipping from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz since the war began. This month, the United States began to block Iranian ships, which Iran says must be stopped as a condition of negotiations.
At least seven ships have crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours, in line with muted activity in recent days, shipping data showed on Monday.
The vessels included vessels from Iraqi ports and one dry bulk vessel from an Iranian port, according to ship tracking data from Kpler and satellite analysis by data analysis specialist SynMax.
Shipping traffic passing through the key waterway at the entrance to the Gulf during the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran represents half of the average of 140 daily posts before the start of the Iran war.
US Central Command has diverted 37 ships since the Iranian blockade on April 13, the military said on Saturday.
Iran says it will not hold talks on the widespread conflict unless the conflict in Lebanon, where Israel launched an offensive in March in pursuit of Iran-backed Hezbollah, which fired across the border in support of Tehran, is halted.
Fighting intensified in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes killed 14 people and wounded 37 in the south on Sunday, according to the Health Ministry, making it the deadliest day since a US-brokered ceasefire was agreed in mid-April.
Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of violating the accord, which was agreed between Israel and the Lebanese government in Washington and extended last week.
A shaky ceasefire is under threat as US President Donald Trump ordered his military to ‘shoot and kill’ any Iranian boat that may be laying mines near the Strait of Hormuz. This is the case when Israeli and Lebanese delegations meet face to face in Washington to discuss the extension of a separate ceasefire. Power & Politics asks Foreign Minister Anita Anand about where things stand on the war — and where Canada stands on possible violations of international law.
The Israeli army has ordered hundreds of thousands of people to leave their villages and has been breaking into homes where they say Hezbollah fighters are working. The military warned residents on Sunday to leave seven other towns across the residential area.
Reuters reporters at a high point across the border in northern Israel captured columns of smoke rising into the sky over southern Lebanon and the continuous sound of explosions.
