By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Iran delivered a new proposal late on Thursday for a second round of negotiations with the United States aimed at ending the nearly nine-week war, Iranian state media and Pakistani officials involved in the mediation said on Friday, offering a potential opening in a diplomatic impasse that has kept global oil prices elevated and the Strait of Hormuz largely closed to commercial traffic.
The Islamic Republic’s official news agency, IRNA, reported that Tehran sent the document to Pakistan, which has been acting as an intermediary. Pakistani officials confirmed that Islamabad received the proposal on Thursday evening and forwarded it to Washington. Neither side released details of the offer, and the White House declined to confirm its receipt. “We do not detail private diplomatic conversations,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement. “President Trump has been clear that Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon, and negotiations continue to ensure the short- and long-term national security of the United States.”
The overture follows President Trump’s rejection of an earlier Iranian plan that would have deferred negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program until after a full ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump has repeatedly insisted that any agreement must prevent Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapon. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, he urged Tehran to “act wisely and sign the deal as soon as possible.”
On Friday, Trump reiterated that the United States had “already won” the conflict but said he wanted to “win by a bigger margin” and ensure Iran’s nuclear ambitions were permanently curtailed. He also told reporters that the price of gasoline would “drop like a rock” once the war ended — a point of political sensitivity for his Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections.
The new proposal arrives as the Trump administration confronts a statutory deadline on Friday under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which requires congressional authorisation for US military operations beyond 60 days. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has argued that the limit does not apply because hostilities were effectively terminated by the ceasefire that took effect April 8.
A shaky truce has held since then, though both sides have accused the other of violations. Fighting has largely subsided inside Iran, but the US Navy maintains a blockade preventing Iranian oil tankers from leaving port, while Iran continues to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint that normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas.
The standoff has slashed shipping traffic in and out of the Persian Gulf by 90 percent, according to the British navy, and sent oil prices above $100 a barrel. Prices eased slightly on Friday after news of the Iranian proposal but remain at levels not seen in years. The US Treasury Department issued a pointed warning to shippers Friday, cautioning that any payment — in cash, cryptocurrency or in-kind contributions — to secure safe passage through the strait would risk violating US sanctions. “The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is aware of Iranian threats to shipping and demands for ‘toll’ payments to receive safe passage through the international Strait of Hormuz,” the notice stated. It specifically flagged potential demands funneled through the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Bonyad Mostazafan or Iranian embassy accounts. “These risks exist regardless of payment method.”
Iranian authorities have required commercial vessels to coordinate with the country’s military for transit, threatening violence or seizure otherwise. A handful of ships have passed after such coordination, but none have publicly acknowledged paying any fee. The economic ripple effects have been severe. The United Nations Refugee Agency warned Friday that the war has caused “major disruptions to global humanitarian supply chains,” particularly harming nations already in crisis. Higher fuel prices, port congestion, soaring insurance premiums and reduced cargo capacity have doubled delivery costs for some aid shipments. Transport expenses for relief items from UNHCR stockpiles in Dubai to operations in Sudan and Chad, for example, jumped from about $927,000 to $1.87 million.
Iranian officials have signaled that nuclear issues, including uranium enrichment and the transfer of enriched material, will not be discussed until a durable ceasefire is guaranteed. A senior commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard warned that any new US attack, even a limited one, would trigger “sustained, wide-ranging, and painful retaliation.” Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi was quoted by Iranian media as telling the United States: “We’ve seen what happened to your regional bases; we will see the same thing happen to your warships.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spent Friday in a series of telephone calls with counterparts in Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Azerbaijan to brief them on Tehran’s latest diplomatic moves. The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, also spoke with Araghchi about efforts to reopen the strait and arrange longer-term security guarantees.
The conflict erupted Feb. 28 with US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Iran responded by firing on US bases and infrastructure in the Gulf, while its Hezbollah allies in Lebanon launched missiles at Israel, prompting Israeli retaliation there. At least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, more than 2,600 in Lebanon, 24 in Israel and more than 20 in Gulf Arab states, according to authorities in those countries. Seventeen Israeli soldiers and 13 US service members have also died.
The Trump administration has weighed options that include extending the naval blockade, declaring a unilateral victory or even using ground forces to seize part of the strait, according to officials familiar with internal deliberations. A State Department cable sent to allies invited them to join a new “Maritime Freedom Construct” coalition once the conflict ends; Britain, France and others have expressed interest in principle but only after hostilities cease.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei cautioned on Thursday against expecting rapid progress. A senior administration official said the war-powers deadline would pass without forcing a change in US operations, given the ceasefire.
Global markets remained jittery. The closure of the strait has choked off energy supplies and raised fears of a broader economic slowdown. Gulf states have voiced alarm over the disruption. Anwar Gargash, a senior adviser to the United Arab Emirates president, wrote that freedom of navigation must rest on “the collective international will and provisions of international law,” adding that “no unilateral Iranian arrangements can be trusted or relied upon.”
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
