Iran Lays Out Demands as Pakistan Pushes for Breakthrough in U.S. Talks

Market screener.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi greeting Pakistani ​Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi laid out Iran's demands and its reservations about U.S. positions on Saturday as Pakistan made a new push to end a war that has killed thousands and shaken global energy markets.

After holding talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other top officials, Araqchi and his delegation flew out of Pakistan's capital Islamabad with a military jet escort, Reuters reported citing government sources. Details of the ‌talks were scant.
 
Washington and Tehran are at an impasse as Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, while the U.S. blocks Iran's oil exports.

The conflict, in which a ceasefire is now in force, began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran has since carried out strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states, and the war has pushed up energy prices to multi-year highs, stoking inflation and darkening global growth prospects.

Araqchi "explained our country's principled positions regarding the ⁠latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against Iran", said a statement on the minister's official Telegram account.

Asked about Tehran's reservations about U.S. positions in the talks, an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters: "Principally, Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands."

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier told reporters that Iran had a chance to make a "good deal".

"Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely," he said. "All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways."

Araqchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday. But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson posted on X that Iranian officials did not plan to meet U.S. representatives and that Tehran's concerns would be conveyed to mediator Pakistan.
 
The U.S. President told Reuters on Friday that Iran planned to make an offer aimed at satisfying U.S. demands but that he did not know what the offer entailed. He declined to say who Washington was negotiating with, "but we're dealing with the people that are in charge now".

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days and hoped more would come this weekend, while Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan as well.

President Trump unilaterally extended a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday to allow more time to reconvene the negotiators.

On Thursday, Israel and Lebanon also extended their ceasefire for three weeks at a White House meeting brokered by President ⁠Trump, but there was little sign of an end to the fighting in southern Lebanon.

Source: Reuters



PUKMEDIA