Disputes over control of the Strait of Hormuz and uranium enrichment continue to hinder peace talks between the U.S. and Iran, as Pakistan stepped up mediation efforts during meetings in Tehran on Friday.
Pakistani Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Tehran, just two days after Tehran received Washington’s latest message, Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Thursday there had been “some good signs” in the talks, but said there could be no agreement if Iran attempted to impose a tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz, which it effectively closed to most shipping after the war began on 28 February.
“There's some good signs. I don't want to be overly optimistic ... So, let's see what happens over the next few days,” Rubio said.
A senior Iranian source told Reuters on Thursday that progress had been made, but that uranium enrichment and the Strait of Hormuz remained major obstacles.
U.S. President Donald Trump has strongly opposed Iranian proposals to charge ships fees for using the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil passed before the conflict began.
“We want it open, we want it free. We don't want tolls. It's an international waterway,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
Trump has also insisted that the U.S. would recover Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which Washington believes is intended for use in a nuclear weapon, despite repeated denials from Tehran.
“We will get it. We don't need it, we don't want it. We'll probably destroy it after we get it, but we're not going to let them have it,” Trump told reporters.
Despite this, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, reportedly ordered on the same day that the country’s enriched uranium must not be sent abroad, in an apparent hardening of Tehran’s negotiating position.
The International Energy Agency has warned that the conflict has triggered the world’s worst energy shock.
It said on Thursday that peak summer fuel demand, combined with a lack of new supply from the Middle East, could push energy markets into the “red zone” in July and August.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the aims of the war were to curb Iran’s support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear programme, destroy its missile capabilities and make it easier for Iranians to overthrow their rulers.
However, Iran has so far retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, as well as its ability to threaten neighbouring countries with missiles, drones and proxy militias.
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The United States launched a seventh consecutive night of strikes on Iran as Tehran targeted U.S. allies in the Gulf, while tensions remain high in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. military said it completed a sixth consecutive night of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, targeting logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities. Iran responded by launching strikes at U.S. bases in neighbouring countries.
The U.S. military announced that it has completed a new wave of strikes against Iranian military targets under U.S. President Donald Trump's orders. The operation targeted command centres, air defence systems, missile and drone facilities, and coastal surveillance sites across multiple locations.
The U.S. has launched fresh strikes on Iran after Tehran targeted a container ship and said it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also claimed to have expanded attacks on U.S. military facilities across the Gulf.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has promised to avenge the killing of his father, while U.S. President Donald Trump said Tehran and Washington had agreed to continue talks despite an escalation of hostilities this week.
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