Iran is making negotiations with the United States conditional on a cease-fire in Lebanon and the release of its frozen assets. said on Friday the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Baker Kalibaf. According to him, this is part of the commitments made by both parties, reports TASR according to the AFP and Reuters agencies.
“Two mutually agreed measures have not yet been implemented: a cease-fire in Lebanon and the release of frozen Iranian assets before negotiations begin,” wrote Kálíbáf in a post on the social network. “These two issues must be met before negotiations can begin,” he added.
His comments came shortly after US Vice President JD Vance traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan, where he will lead a US delegation to talks with Iran after the two countries agreed to a two-week ceasefire in the war. The Iranian delegation is expected to be led by Kalibaf and the head of diplomacy, Abbas Araki.
“If the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we are certainly willing to give them an open hand. If they try to play with us, they’ll find that the negotiating team isn’t so accommodating.” Vance said before taking off from the base near Washington.
Since the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday Iran insists it also includes Lebanon, where Israel is waging a war against the militants of Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran. The White House denied that, and Vance called it a “misunderstanding” on Wednesday. The unblocking of Iranian assets has not yet been publicly established as a condition for negotiations, although Tehran’s ten demands include the complete lifting of sanctions.
