Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday that it has not yet made a decision on the delegation’s participation in the next round of negotiations with the United States. “At this moment, we have no set plans for the next round of negotiations, and no decision has been made on this matter yet,” said Esmáíl Bakaí, spokesman for the Department of Diplomacy, at a regular weekly briefing in Tehran, AFP reported, writes TASR.
- Iran has not yet made a decision on participating in the next round of negotiations.
- Iran is making the resumption of talks conditional on the lifting of the US port blockade and restrictions.
The Iranian state media reported in a similar vein earlier.
Blockade and escalation of tension
Negotiations with the US delegation were due to begin on Monday, two days before a ceasefire expires on Wednesday in the war that began on February 28 with US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Amiri Moghaddam, summed up the country’s position in a report on the X Network: “You cannot simultaneously violate international law, strengthen your blockade, threaten Iran with new war crimes, insist on unreasonable demands, and waste time with meaningless rhetoric while pretending to work on ‘diplomacy.'”
Several other Iranian media have indicated that the lifting of the port blockade by the US is a precondition for the resumption of negotiations. This issue was further complicated by the news on Sunday that the US Navy had detained an Iranian cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.
Trump’s reaction and threats
The Touska vessel “tried to break through our naval blockade and paid for it,” US President Donald Trump subsequently wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Through its military spokesman, Tehran promised early retaliation for this “act of armed piracy.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Iran’s participation, Trump already announced on Sunday that he would send a delegation to Pakistan. He announced her arrival in Islamabad on Monday evening and said on his Truth Social platform that he was offering Iran a “reasonable deal”. However, if it is rejected, “the United States will destroy every power plant and every bridge in Iran.”
Rising oil prices
Oil prices rallied again in early Asian trading on Monday, with WTI jumping more than eight percent amid renewed tensions in the Middle East.
While waiting for the official confirmation on whether or not the peace talks will be held, Islamabad will see a strengthening of security measures – with numerous road closures, installations of barbed wire and roadblocks – from Sunday, AFP noted.
