A new burst of diplomatic action intensified Thursday in a push to break the deadlock between the United States and Iran.
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Tehran was responding to Washington’s latest proposal, which had “reduced the gaps to some extent” between the two sides, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported early Thursday.
It said that a visit by Pakistan’s army chief was “aimed at reducing these gaps and reaching the point of officially announcing acceptance of the memorandum of understanding.”
The report, which did not disclose any sourcing, came after President Donald Trump said that efforts to finally reach a deal to end the war could take a few days — though he also again threatened renewed military action.
Trump said Wednesday that if the U.S. did not “get the right answers,” it was “all ready to go.” Asked how long he would wait, Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, “it could be a few days, but it could go very quickly.”
He said in separate comments that negotiations with Tehran were in their “final stages” but that things could get “a little bit nasty” if an agreement isn’t reached.
Weeks of negotiations amid the ceasefire have centered on a deal that could curb Iran’s nuclear program and restore shipping traffic through the crucial Strait of Hormuz trade route.
Oil prices have soared amid the conflict, with the international benchmark Brent crude hovering at around $107 per barrel early Thursday.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said earlier Thursday that Tehran had received U.S. views and was reviewing them, Nour News, which is linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported.
He said Pakistan, which has played a central role in negotiations, was helping facilitate the exchange of messages between the two sides.
Field Marshal Asim Munir, the commander of Pakistan’s army, was expected to travel to Tehran on Thursday, ISNA reported.
It comes after Trump said earlier this week that he had called off an attack on Iran planned for Tuesday after regional leaders urged him to allow negotiations to continue.
In a message on Truth Social on Monday, the president said leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had asked him to “hold off” on the attack, with “serious negotiations” taking place.
He said they had emphasized that a deal that would be “very acceptable to the United States of America” could be made. “This deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN,” Trump said.
Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard has warned against any renewed attacks should negotiations falter.
“If aggression against Iran is repeated, the regional war that had been promised will this time extend beyond the region and our crushing blows will bring you to ruin in places you cannot even imagine,” it said in a statement Wednesday.
U.S. Marines boarded an Iranian flagged tanker — the Celestial Sea — that attempted to violate the American maritime blockade, the U.S. military said Wednesday. This standoff over the Strait of Hormuz has throttled global shipping and threatened widespread disruption of energy and food supplies.
