Iran has said that there has been “progress” in peace talks with the United States, but a final deal remained “far” off, with the two-week ceasefire set to end on Wednesday.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, said in a televised address on Saturday that “there are many gaps and some fundamental points remain.”
“We are still far from the final discussion,” said Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation during the first round of talks in Pakistan last Saturday.
He also said that Iran had been “victorious in the field” during weeks of war and had only agreed to a temporary truce with Washington because its demands had been met.
“If we accepted the ceasefire, it was because they accepted our demands,” he said, referring to the United States.
Ghalibaf said the US had not achieved its goals and Iran controlled the strategic Strait of Hormuz maritime transit route.
“The enemy’s every effort was to impose its demands on us and it is important that we register our rights, so this is where negotiation is a method of struggle,” he said.
Ghalibaf and his delegation held closed-door talks in Islamabad with US Vice President JD Vance on April 11, in the highest-level Iran-US contacts since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The negotiations did not result in a final deal.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Saeed Khatibzadeh has said that no date has been set for the next round of negotiations with the US.
Speaking on the sidelines of a diplomacy forum in Antalya, he said Tehran is prioritising the finalisation of a “framework of understanding” before committing to further talks. CNN had reported that the next rounds of talks were scheduled for Monday in Islamabad.
Trump Says “Very Good Conversations” Going On
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that “very good conversations” were going on with Iran but warned Tehran against trying to “blackmail” the United States.
Speaking to reporters at a White House event, he accused Iran of getting “a little cute” with its recent moves, referring to Tehran reimposing restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, which usually carries a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
“We’re talking to them. They wanted to close up the strait again — you know, as they’ve been doing for years — and they can’t blackmail us,” Trump said.
He said there would be “some information” about Iran later in the day, adding: “We’re taking a tough stand.”
Iran’s Flip-Flops On Strait Of Hormuz
The Iranian military on Saturday declared the Strait of Hormuz was once again closed, a day after saying it was open.
The flip-flops came after Trump insisted that a US naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue until a deal to end the war — which began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran — was concluded.
Iran’s central military command said that, in response to the US blockade, Hormuz was again “under strict management and control of the armed forces”.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that any effort to cross “will be considered cooperation with the enemy, and the offending vessel will be targeted”.
2 Indian-Flagged Vessels Attacked By Iran In Hormuz
Two Indian-flagged vessels were fired at by Iranian gunboats in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, with sources telling NDTV that no one was injured and the vessels were not damaged.
The two ships — Jag Arnav and Sanmar Herald — came under direct attack, sources said.
They had to turn back after the incident northeast of Oman in the shipping lane.
One of the two vessels is a very large crude carrier (VLCC), a classification given to tankers that are massive in size and designed for long-haul crude transport.
Following the incident, New Delhi summoned the Iranian ambassador and “conveyed India’s deep concern”.
“During the meeting, Foreign Secretary conveyed India’s deep concern at the shooting incident earlier today involving two Indian-flagged ships in the Strait of Hormuz. He noted the importance that India attached to the safety of merchant shipping and mariners and recalled that Iran had earlier facilitated the safe passage of several ships bound for India,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
“Reiterating his concern at this serious incident of firing on merchant ships, Foreign Secretary urged the Ambassador to convey India’s views to the authorities in Iran and resume at the earliest the process of facilitating India-bound ships across the Strait. The Ambassador of Iran undertook to convey these views to the Iranian authorities,” the statement added.