Iran has just tossed a bone to the United States. It has offered to open the Strait of Hormuz first, and then hold talks on its nuclear program.
U.S. Begins Blockade of Strait of Hormuz
This would postpone nuclear talks but reopen the vital waterway, relieving pressure at the pump, while also, hopefully, signaling an end to the war.
This proposal, which was delivered to the White House via Pakistani intermediaries, focuses on extending the ceasefire or even ending the war, as well as lifting the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint accounting for 20% of the world’s seaborne oil trade, according to a report by RT. Nuclear talks would not start until the blockade is lifted, according to the reported plan.
Iran Fires On Ships In Strait Of Hormuz After Trump Announced Ceasefire Extension
The U.S. ruling class has ordered a naval blockade of the already blockaded Strait in order to pressure Iran into making a deal.
An unnamed U.S. official and two other sources familiar with the matter told the outlet that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mentioned the plan during back-to-back visits to Islamabad, informing the Pakistani, Egyptian, Turkish, and Qatari mediators that Iran’s leadership has no internal consensus on how to address Washington’s nuclear demands.
Iran continues to insist that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. The U.S. continues to disagree. The U.S. is also insisting that Iran hand over its enriched uranium.
Iran’s nuclear program has long been at the center of the dispute between Washington and Tehran. It took the Obama administration more than two years of intensive international talks to produce the landmark 2015 nuclear deal which addressed similar issues, only for President Donald Trump to withdraw the US from it in 2018. -RT
The new offer comes after US-Iran talks in Islamabad, which started after the sides announced a tentative ceasefire, but failed to produce a breakthrough.
Vance Fails In Iran: No Peace Deal
On Saturday, hopes for diplomacy dimmed as Trump canceled a trip to the Pakistani capital by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, saying, “You’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.”
Oil Prices Hit Multi-Year High Amid Persian Gulf Tensions
Read the full article here