US and Iran report progress on talks ending war, looking to next few days

NEW DELHI/DUBAI - Iran, the United States and mediator Pakistan all said on May 23 that progress had been made in talks on ending almost three months of war.

Tehran is focused on finalising a memorandum of understanding, Iran’s foreign ministry said after Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Mr Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief.

Mr Munir also met President Masoud Pezeshkian before leaving Tehran, Iranian state media reported. The Pakistani army said negotiations over the previous 24 hours had resulted in “encouraging” progress towards a final understanding

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is visiting India, also said some progress had been made on Iran and that the US might have “something to say” on the issue in the coming days.

“There’s been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you now, there’s some work being done. There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say,” Mr Rubio told reporters in New Delhi.

US President Donald Trump’s “preference is always to solve problems such as these through a negotiated diplomatic solution. That’s what we’re working on right now,” Mr Rubio said.

“But this problem will be solved, as the president’s made... clear, one way or the other.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei added: “The trend this week has been towards a reduction in disputes, but there are still issues that need to be discussed through mediators.”

He noted what he called “a trend towards rapprochement” with Washington but said “it does not necessarily mean that we and the United States will reach an agreement on the important issues”.

“We will have to wait and see where the situation ends in the next three or four days.”

US and Iran both reiterate their positions

Pakistan’s mediation push aims to narrow differences between Iran and the US after weeks of war that have left the vital waterway of the Strait of Hormuz closed to most shipping despite a nervous ceasefire, upending global energy markets.

The talks reportedly centred on a 14-point document proposed by Iran, which it considers the main framework for the discussions, and messages exchanged between the two sides.

Mr Baghaei said the issue of the US blockade on Iran’s shipping was important, but that its priority was ending the threat of new US attacks and the ongoing conflict in Lebanon, where Iran-allied Hezbollah militants are fighting Israeli troops who have moved into the south.

“Within a reasonable period of 30 to 60 days, the details of these points will be discussed and a final agreement will ultimately be concluded. We are currently in the process of finalising these memoranda of understanding,” he told state broadcaster IRIB.

Mr Rubio repeated Mr Trump’s demands: “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The straits need to be open without tolls. They need to turn over their enriched uranium.”

On the nuclear issue, Mr Baghaei said: “At this stage, we will not discuss the details of the nuclear issue... we have decided to prioritise an urgent issue for all of us: ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon.”

He added that the nuclear file will be “subject to separate discussions” at a later stage.

Mr Qalibaf said Iran would pursue its “legitimate rights”, both on the battlefield and through diplomacy, but added that it could not trust “a party that has no honesty at all”, an allegation Iran has made several times before.

He said Iran’s armed forces had rebuilt their capabilities during the ceasefire and that, if the United States “foolishly restarts the war”, the consequences would be “more forceful and bitter” than at the start of the conflict.

Mr Trump, whose ratings have been hit by the war’s impact on energy prices for US consumers, said on May 22 he would not attend his son’s wedding this weekend, citing Iran among reasons he planned to stay in Washington.

Despite weeks of conflict, Iran has preserved its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium as well as missile, drone and proxy capabilities that the United States and Israel say they aim to curb.

Israel strikes Lebanon

Hezbollah said on May 23 that a message from Tehran showed that Iran would not abandon the Lebanese group and the Islamic republic’s proposal to end the US-Iran war includes a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Iran-backed Hezbollah said its chief Naim Qassem had received a message from Mr Araghchi, indicating that Iran “will not give up its support for movements demanding justice and freedom, foremost among them Hezbollah”.

In Iran’s latest proposal through Pakistani mediators aimed at achieving “a permanent and stable end to the war, the demand to include Lebanon in the ceasefire was emphasised”, the statement added.

Israel had warned the residents of 15 villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate their homes immediately on May 23 to avoid planned air strikes against alleged Hezbollah targets as fighting has not stopped on the Lebanon front of the regional war.

Since an April 17 ceasefire, Israel has continued strikes, demolitions and evacuation orders in south Lebanon, saying it is targeting Hezbollah, which has also kept up attacks on Israeli forces.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the war on March 2 with rocket fire at Israel after Iran’s supreme leader was killed by US-Israeli strikes. REUTERS, AFP