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Pakistani minister in Tehran as US-Iran talks hover in stalemate
Pakistan's interior minister headed to Iran on Wednesday for the second time this week amid an impasse between Tehran and Washington over a proposal to end the war, Iranian state media reported.
"Mohsin Naqvi travelled to Tehran to meet officials from the Islamic Republic," Iran's official IRNA news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources in Islamabad.
Pakistan has been mediating between Iran and the United States, with Naqvi previously in Tehran on Saturday to "facilitate" the process between Tehran and Washington, according to Iranian media.
Since a ceasefire between Iran and the US took hold on April 8, Tehran and Washington have held a single round of talks which failed to culminate in a deal.
However, the two sides have been exchanging proposals to resolve disagreements and end the war in the region.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that the US has sent a set of "revised" points and considerations to Iran through mediator Pakistan despite publicly rejecting Tehran's 14-point peace proposal.
"After Iran sent its 14-point plan, the US side conveyed its considerations. We also presented our considerations in return. Although the American side publicly announced that this plan was rejected, we received from the Pakistani mediator a set of revised points and considerations from their point of view," Esmaeil Baqaei said during his weekly press conference.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday that Tehran’s latest peace proposal to the US involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of US forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the US-Israeli war.
He added that Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen funds and an end to the US marine blockade on the country.
Vance boasts of ‘a lot of progress’ in talks
US Vice President JD Vance also said on Tuesday the US and Iran have made a lot of progress in their talks and neither side wants to see a resumption of the military campaign.
"We think that we've made a lot of progress. We think the Iranians want to make a deal," Vance told reporters at a White House briefing.
Vance said he had just spoken to US President Donlad Trump, who stressed that the core issue for the US is that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. If that happens, Vance said, countries around the Persian Gulf would then want their own weapon, then other countries across the world would as well.
On Tuesday, Trump offered a deadline of several days for resuming strikes if a deal is not agreed. He had claimed a day earlier that Persian Gulf Arab leaders asked him to hold off on an attack at the 11th hour.
"I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week, a limited period of time," he said.