US, Iran could resume talks in Islamabad next week: Report

WASHINGTON: The United States and Iran could resume negotiations as early as next week in Islamabad, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter.

The report said both sides are working through mediators on a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) intended to establish the framework for a month-long negotiating process aimed at ending the conflict.

According to the report, the proposed draft includes Iran’s nuclear programme, reducing tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, and possible arrangements for transferring Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpiles to another country. However, several major issues remain unresolved.

International media have reported that Iran and the United States will resume talks in Islamabad next week.

According to the report, Tehran and Washington are currently working with mediating countries on a 14-point proposal aimed at ending the conflict.

The proposal includes… pic.twitter.com/QIjlr3xekS

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One of the main sticking points is the scope of potential sanctions relief for Tehran, which the report said could complicate or delay progress in the talks. If negotiations advance, the initial one-month dialogue period could reportedly be extended by mutual agreement.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump on Friday (local time) said his administration was expecting a response from Iran later in the day regarding Washington’s proposal aimed at ending the ongoing West Asia conflict. Speaking to reporters before travelling to a dinner at his golf course in Sterling, Virginia, Trump said, “We’ll hear from them supposedly tonight,” when asked whether Washington had received any response from Tehran.

When pressed on whether he believed Iran was intentionally delaying the process, Trump said he was uncertain, adding, “We’ll find out soon enough.”

His remarks came after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was anticipating an Iranian response on Friday to the proposal aimed at ending the conflict while expressing hope that it would be “a serious offer”. “We should know something today,” Rubio told reporters during a gaggle in Rome.

Rubio is currently on a diplomatic tour to Italy and the Vatican amid tension in the transatlantic relations between the US and Europe. “We have not received that yet, as of the last hour,” Rubio said, adding that Iran’s internal situation could be affecting the timeline.

“Their system is still highly fractured, and it’s dysfunctional as well, so that may be serving as an impediment,” he added. Rubio said Washington hoped the Iranian response would lead to “a serious process of negotiation”.

Earlier on Thursday, responding to enquiries regarding whether Iran had engaged with what some had termed a “one-page proposal”, Trump challenged that description of the document. “Well, it’s more than a one-page offer. It’s an offer that basically said they will not have nuclear weapons; they are going to hand us the nuclear dust and many other things that we want,” Trump said.

When questioned on whether the Iranian leadership had consented to these terms, Trump indicated that a verbal agreement does not necessarily signal a definitive resolution. “They have agreed. When they agree, it doesn’t mean much because the next day they forget they agreed,” he said, further noting, “And you know, we’re dealing with different sets of leaders.”

Regional tensions escalated after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 triggered retaliatory attacks by Tehran and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy shipping corridor.

A ceasefire brokered through Pakistani mediation came into effect on April 8, though the first round of talks in Islamabad on April 11 failed to produce a durable agreement. The truce was later extended by US President Donald Trump without a defined end date.

Since April 13, the US has maintained a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the strategic waterway. (ANI)