HOPES for early resumption of direct talks between the United States and Iran have faded but the willingness of the two countries to remain engaged via Pakistan augurs well for a positive final outcome. Normalization of security and administrative measures in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi ‘especially lifting of security restrictions in the Red Zone’ conveyed an impression as well as cancellation of planned visit of the US delegation by President Donald Trump indicated continuation of the stalemate caused by extreme positions adopted by the United States and Iran with remote chances for an imminent meeting in Islamabad.
It is encouraging that despite verbal duels, the diplomatic push to find a negotiated settlement of the issues involved is intact as was evident from the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, who held detailed meetings with Pakistani mediators both before and after his Oman visit and prior to his departure for Moscow for talks with Russian leaders. Secrecy surrounds the exact motivation for the visit and contents of the discussions with the three countries but it did convey an impression about involvement of more capitals in the diplomatic process aimed at finding a solution acceptable to both sides. According to the Fars News Agency, Iran had transmitted “written messages” to the Americans via mediator Pakistan that were “about some of the red lines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz”. It also claimed that Araghchi’s important agenda was to convey Iran’s conditions for ending the war to the Pakistani side which is acting as a mediator. “Issues such as imposing a new legal regime on the Strait of Hormuz, receiving compensation, ensuring no further military aggression against Iran by the warmongers and termination of the naval blockade against the country are among the issues raised by Araqchi.” These are the issues that formed original demands of Tehran and insistence on them means lack of required progress on any of them. Reports also say Iran has come out with a new proposal for reopening of Strait of Hormuz and wanted the nuclear issue to be postponed for a later stage. In a positive development, the US President announced continuation of the engagement with Iran by phone (via Pakistan) despite cancellation of the visit of his country’s delegation to Islamabad. It is also appreciable that the ceasefire is holding but its violations in the case of Lebanon are threatening the fragile peace.
