Iran hands over new proposal for talks with US to end war
Asif Shahzad, Humeyra Pamuk and Ahmed Elimam
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON/DUBAI, May 1 (Reuters) – Tehran has submitted its final offer for talks with the United States, Iranian state media and a Pakistani official said on Friday. It’s a move that could offer hope for breaking the impasse in efforts to end the Iran war.
The official, who participated in Pakistan’s mediation on the war, said Pakistan received the offer late Thursday and forwarded it to the United States.
Neither the official nor Iranian state news agency IRNA gave details, and the White House declined to comment but said negotiations were ongoing. Global oil prices, which were well above $100 per barrel, fell following the news of the offer.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused an unprecedented disruption in energy markets, blocking 20% of the world’s oil and gas supply and causing a record rise in oil prices.
The blockade of the vital sea channel also increased concerns about an economic crisis. The US Navy is blocking exports of Iranian crude oil, and the US Treasury on Friday warned shippers they risk sanctions if they pay Iran tolls for transit through the Bosphorus.
A ceasefire has been in effect since April 8, but news that US President Donald Trump would be briefed on plans for new military strikes that would force Iran to negotiate caused global oil prices to soar to a four-year high at one point on Thursday.
Iran has activated its air defenses and plans a broad response if attacked, assessing what would be a short and intense U.S. strike, followed by possibly an Israeli strike, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
‘TRAISER AGGRESSIVENESS’
Washington did not say what its next steps would be. Trump said Tuesday that he was unhappy with Iran’s previous offer and that Pakistan had not set a date for new talks to end the war that has killed thousands of people, primarily in Iran and Lebanon.
Following the US and Israeli air strikes on February 28, Iran opened fire on US bases, infrastructures and US-related companies in the Gulf countries, while the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah launched missiles at Israel and responded with attacks on Lebanon.
Underlining the concerns of the Gulf countries, UAE presidential advisor Anwar Gargash said that “the common international will and the provisions of international law” are the main guarantors of freedom of navigation in the strait.
“And of course, no unilateral regulation can be relied upon or trusted in the wake of Iran’s treacherous aggression against all of its neighbors,” Gargash wrote.
Trump faces an official U.S. deadline on Friday to end the war or sue Congress to extend it under the 1973 War Powers Act.
That date appears likely to pass without altering the course of the conflict, after a senior administration official said that for the purposes of the resolution, hostilities had ended due to a ceasefire reached between Tehran and Washington in April.
Financial and energy markets remain tense due to concerns about a stalemate in negotiations and concerns that the Strait of Hormuz could remain closed for a long time.
IRAN SAID THAT IT WOULD NOT EXPECT QUICK RESULTS FROM THE TALKS
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned on Thursday not to expect quick results from the talks.
A senior official from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said that any new US attack on Iran, even limited, would lead to “prolonged and painful attacks” on US regional positions, while Aerospace Forces Commander Majid Mousavi was quoted by Iranian media as saying: “We have seen what happened to your regional bases; we will see the same thing happen to your warships.”
Trump repeated Thursday that Iran will not be allowed to have nuclear weapons and said the price of gasoline would “drop like a rock” once the war is over, a major concern for the Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only.
The conflict has worsened Iran’s economic situation, but for now it looks like it can survive despite the US blockade restricting its energy exports.
Axios news site reported that a plan to be shared with Trump during a briefing by senior US military leaders on Thursday involves using ground forces to reopen part of the strait to commercial shipping. Officials said Trump was also considering extending the US blockade or declaring unilateral victory.
Washington did not immediately disclose any details about its plans.
In a sign that the United States also envisions an end-of-hostilities scenario, a State Department cable to be delivered verbally to partner countries by May 1 invited them to join a new coalition called the Freedom of the Sea Structure to allow ships to navigate the strait.
France, Britain and others have held talks about contributing to such a coalition but have said they would only help open the Bosphorus once the conflict ends.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus, Writing by Timothy Heritage and Aidan Lewis, Editing by Gareth Jones and Hugh Lawson)
