Kamal Ghorui
File photo: US President Donald Trump
The United States has reportedly put two new conditions ahead of the second rounds of peace talks with Iran scheduled in Pakistan on Thursday.According to a report by he Israel Hayom, Washington wants full and unrestricted reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.The report claimed that the Americans are sticking to a position of reciprocity. In other words, if the Iranians prevent the movement of ships and tankers through Hormuz, their own ships and tankers will not be allowed to move through it either. Citing the diplomatic sources, the report said that US also wanted the Iran’s delegation to have full authority from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps before the both the sides reach any agreement.Reportedly, two senior Revolutionary Guards officials, Ahmad Vahidi and Ali Abdollahi, did not allow the political delegation that was in Pakistan to provide answers to the Americans. Following this, Pezeshkian has reportedly demanded that parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is leading the Iranian delegation, take a stand and “save Iran from total economic collapse”.This came as delegations from US and Iran are scheduled to return to Pakistan later this week to resume the second round of negotiations to the end the war which ensued on February 28.However, there was no immediate confirmation from US officials about the plans, which the Iranian and Pakistani officials discussed on condition of anonymity.A source who has been involved in the talks said a proposal had been sent to Washington and Tehran for the delegations to return to Islamabad to resume discussions. No date had yet been decided but both countries could return as early as the end of this week.An official at the Iranian embassy in Islamabad said: “The coming rounds of talks can come sometime later this week or earlier next week. But nothing is finalised as of now.”Earlier, a senior Iranian source told Reuters: “No firm date has been set, with the delegations keeping Friday through Sunday open.”A senior Pakistani official said Islamabad had reached out to Iran “and we got a positive response that they will be open to a second round of talks”.The official and a second Pakistani source said Islamabad was communicating with both sides about the timing of the next round, and the meeting would be likely to take place over the coming weekend.
