Iran yesterday questioned the seriousness of US diplomacy in the wake of renewed naval clashes in the Gulf, while keeping Washington waiting for a response to its latest negotiating position.
US President Donald Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting Iran’s response to Washington’s latest proposal on a deal to extend a fragile truce and launch peace talks — “supposedly tonight.”
However, if Iran did send the talks’ Pakistani mediators a response, there was no public sign of this, and Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi called into question the reliability of the US leadership, in a call with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
Photo: AFP
“The recent escalation of tensions by American forces in the Persian Gulf and their numerous actions in violating the ceasefire have added to suspicions about the motivation and seriousness of the American side in the path of diplomacy,” ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.
In an incident on Friday, a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iran’s ports. The US action prompted Iranian retaliatory attacks.
An Iranian military official told local media the country’s navy had “responded to the violation of the ceasefire and to American terrorism with strikes” and “the clashes have now ceased.”
The latest incident came after a previous flare-up overnight Thursday to Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international sea lane that Iran is seeking to control to extract tolls from foreign vessels and to wield economic leverage over the US and its allies.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said that it was “unacceptable” for Tehran to control the key oil route.
Washington has sent Iran, via Pakistani mediators, a proposal to extend the truce in the Gulf to allow for talks on a final settlement of the conflict launched 10 weeks ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that the proposal was still “under review,” ISNA reported.
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