Iran says a final peace agreement with the United States is still far away as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed in the ongoing standoff.
Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a televised address that there has been some progress in talks with Washington but many gaps and fundamental issues remain unresolved. He stressed that Iran is still far from a final discussion on ending the war launched by the United States and Israel against the country.
Iran has refused to reopen the vital waterway until the US lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. Ghalibaf warned that if America does not end the blockade, traffic in the Strait of Hormuz will remain limited.
The comments came after high level talks in Pakistan failed to produce a breakthrough. US President Donald Trump said very good conversations are ongoing but accused Iran of trying to blackmail Washington by closing and reopening the strait. He insisted that the US is taking a tough stand and will not be pressured.
On Friday, Iran briefly declared the strait open after a temporary ceasefire was agreed to halt Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The move sent oil prices sharply lower and sparked optimism in global markets. But Iran quickly reversed course after Trump said the blockade on Iranian ports would stay until a final deal is reached.
The Revolutionary Guards have warned that any vessel trying to pass through the strait without Iranian permission will be treated as cooperating with the enemy and could be targeted. A UK maritime security agency reported that Guards units fired at one tanker and threatened to destroy an empty cruise ship fleeing the Gulf. Another vessel was reportedly hit by an unknown projectile, damaging containers but causing no fire.
By Sunday morning, ship tracking data showed the entrance to the Gulf almost at a standstill, with the strait itself largely empty. India said it had summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest over a shooting incident involving two Indian flagged ships.
On the diplomatic front, mediators Egypt and Pakistan have expressed cautious optimism. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said both countries hope for a final deal in the coming days, though major obstacles remain.
A key sticking point is Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, estimated at about 440 kilogrammes. Trump has claimed Iran agreed to hand over the material, saying it would be removed with excavators. Iran’s foreign ministry has firmly rejected this, saying the stockpile will not be transferred anywhere and that surrendering it to the US has never been discussed.
President Masoud Pezeshkian questioned why Iran should give up what he called its legal right to a nuclear programme. In a statement, he asked why the US president says Iran cannot use its nuclear rights without explaining the basis for that demand.
The wider conflict began on February 28 when US and Israeli forces launched massive attacks on Iran, even as negotiations were underway. The war quickly spread across the region, with Iran striking US linked targets in neighbouring Gulf states and Hezbollah drawing Lebanon into the fighting by firing rockets at Israel.
A two week ceasefire is due to expire on Wednesday unless renewed, adding urgency to the talks.
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