in brief
- Iran has shown its willingness to join peace talks with the US should the latter withdraw a nearby naval blockade.
- A tenuous ceasefire between the two countries is set to expire on Thursday morning.
Iran is considering attending peace talks with the United States in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, following Pakistan's efforts to end a US blockade of Iran's ports.
Iran was "positively reviewing" its participation, they said, a shift from earlier statements that ruled out attendance and pledged retaliation for US aggression.
However, the official stressed that no decision had been made, and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that "continued violations of the ceasefire" by the US are a major obstacle to continuing the diplomatic process.
Araghchi told his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, in a telephone call that Iran, while taking all aspects of the matter into account, had yet to decide how to proceed further.
The two-week ceasefire in a conflict that has killed thousands and roiled the global economy, particularly energy markets, is set to expire this week.
US President Donald Trump is eager for a deal that would help avoid another surge in oil prices and plunge in stock markets.
Iran hopes to leverage its control of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping channel for global energy supplies, to get an agreement that prevents a resumption of the war and allows financial relief from long-running sanctions and some breathing room for its nuclear program.
Trump said on social media that he believed his administration's nuclear deal with Iran would be better than a 2015 international agreement reached after years of negotiations under then-president Barack Obama.
Trump withdrew from that agreement, which had been vehemently opposed by congressional Republicans and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in 2018, during his first term as president.
It was unclear what kind of agreement could be reached in just a few days of talks, but Trump predicted a quick result.
"I am under no pressure whatsoever, although, it will all happen, relatively quickly!" Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Pakistan has been gearing up to host the talks despite uncertainty over whether they would go ahead.
Nearly 20,000 security personnel have been deployed across Islamabad, a government official and a security official said.
Ongoing blockade
The ceasefire had appeared in jeopardy after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade, and Iran vowed to retaliate.
A Pakistani security source said Pakistani mediator Field Marshal Asim Munir had told Trump the blockade was an obstacle to talks, and that Trump had promised to consider ending it.
The US was hoping to start negotiations in Pakistan shortly before the ceasefire expires.
However, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that "unconstructive and contradictory signals from American officials carry a bitter message; they seek Iran's surrender."
"Iranians do not submit to force," he added on X.
Ceasefire set to expire
Trump announced the two-week ceasefire with Iran on 7 April and has not specified when precisely it ends.
A Pakistani source involved in the talks said it would expire at 10am (AEST) on Thursday, which would be 3.30am Thursday in Iran.
The US has maintained its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
Oil prices rose around 5 per cent as traders remained fearful that the ceasefire would collapse. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a virtual standstill with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data.
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