Iran’s army commander Ali Abdollahi threatened, according to state television, that if the US continued its blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz that began on Monday, Iranian forces would “not allow any exports or imports through the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea.” At the same time, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai confirmed that “several messages (with the US) have been exchanged via Pakistan since Sunday, when the Iranian delegation returned to Tehran.”
A Pakistani delegation led by army chief Asim Munir also arrived in Iran. According to Iranian state television, she will deliver a new message from Washington to Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi. After the failure of a first round of negotiations between the USA and Iran in Islamabad last weekend, the question of future negotiations will be discussed.
Delegations from the USA and Iran discussed a peace solution in Islamabad on Saturday under Pakistani mediation. The most important point of contention is the Iranian nuclear program. According to US media reports, the US is calling for a 20-year pause in Iran’s uranium enrichment, while Tehran is proposing to suspend its nuclear activities for five years.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed that Tehran insists “that Iran should be able to continue enrichment according to its needs.” However, “the extent and type of enrichment” are “negotiable”.
Trump told the New York Post on Tuesday that “something could happen in the next two days” with regard to the Iran negotiations. He told Fox Business that the war was “almost over.” US Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation in Islamabad, said a “great offer” had been made to the Islamic Republic to end the war and address the decades-old dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif set off on Wednesday for a trip to the states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye, which are also trying to mediate. He was accompanied, among others, by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, one of the mediators at the talks in Islamabad.
Representatives of the United Arab Emirates and Iran discussed de-escalating the conflict on Wednesday. In a phone call, Emirati Vice President Sheikh Mansur bin Sajed al Nahjan and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf discussed “ways to reduce tensions in the region,” the WAM news agency reported. After the start of the Iran war, the Emirates withdrew its ambassador from Tehran and closed its embassy.
With regard to Iran’s ally China, US President Trump said in his online service Truth Social that President Xi Jinping had assured him that Beijing would not supply Iran with weapons. “China is very happy that I will permanently open the Strait of Hormuz. I’m doing it for them, and for the world,” Trump said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov offered at a meeting with Xi that Russia could “compensate” for the country’s lack of energy supplies due to the blocked Strait of Hormuz.
The Iran war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran responded with attacks on Israel, several Gulf states and US facilities in the region. On April 7th, the USA and Iran agreed on a two-week ceasefire.
