New talks are being held between Tehran and Washington, following the disagreements on April 18 that led to the (re)closure of the Strait of Hormuz. How are they progressing?
“Progress, but…”
The President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammed Bager Qalibaf, considered the chief negotiator of the Iranian delegation, stated that progress had been made in the recent talks. “Progress has been made but the distance between us remains significant,” he told Iranian media regarding the talks held over the weekend. “We insist on certain issues. They also have red lines. But it could be only one or two issues.”
Donald Trump mentioned that the United States had “very good conversations” without providing further details.
The Strait of Hormuz closed
Iran announced on Saturday that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz again, following a temporary reopening for commercial traffic, due to the ongoing blockade of Iranian ports by the American navy. The Iranian armed forces command Khatam Al-Anbiya recalled on April 18 that Iran had initially “in good faith agreed to allow the passage of a limited number of tankers and commercial vessels.”
However, they denounced the behavior of the Americans, violating their commitment and “continuing to engage in acts of piracy under the pretext of the so-called blockade.” “For this reason, control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state, and this strategic passage is now under strict control by Iran.”
Eight weeks of conflict
Neither party provided details on the state of negotiations on Saturday, just days before the fragile ceasefire between the United States and Iran was set to expire. The conflict, now in its eighth week, has resulted in thousands of deaths and sparked a surge in oil prices due to the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the bombing campaign launched by the United States and Israel on February 28.
