TEHRAN: Iran has handed over a new proposal for talks with the United States through Pakistan, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
Iran delivered the text of its latest negotiating proposal to Pakistan on Thursday evening, the official IRNA news agency said.
Earlier, Esmail Baqaie, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, in a television interview, stated that ending the war and lasting peace is Tehran’s priority in negotiations with the United States.
Iran-US held talks in Pakistan amid ceasefire
Iran and the United States held a single round of direct talks in Pakistan’s Islamabad amid a ceasefire that followed nearly 40 days of conflict, which began on February 28.
Pakistan has positioned itself as a key mediator since the war started, facilitating dialogue despite the initial round of talks ending without an agreement.
The talks helped establish rare direct channels between Washington and Tehran, laying the groundwork for continued engagement despite ongoing tensions.
Iran insists on diplomacy despite tensions
Iran’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei has said Tehran never stopped negotiating with the US. “We do not welcome war, but we are not afraid of it,” he said.
He added that while Iran “always welcomed negotiations”, diplomacy is “based on logic and rationality”.
Oil prices surge on renewed geopolitical tensions
Meanwhile, global oil prices surged to their highest level since 2022 after the commander of US Central Command briefed US President Donald Trump on potential “final blow” strike options against Iran, according to a media report.
Benchmark Brent crude rose nearly 7 percent to more than $126 per barrel at one stage on Thursday, before retreating later in volatile trading.
The spike follows a report by US media, citing anonymous sources, that US military planners have drawn up options for a wave of “short and powerful” strikes aimed at breaking a diplomatic deadlock with Tehran.
Economic strain deepens inside Iran
On Thursday, the US military said its blockade had stopped Iran from exporting $6 billion worth of oil, while inflation, already above 45 percent before the war, reached 53.7 percent in recent weeks, according to the national statistics centre.
International coalition plan linked to post-conflict stability
France and Britain have spearheaded efforts to form an international coalition of dozens of countries aimed at reopening the strait, but only after the establishment of lasting peace.
France’s foreign minister has stated that a newly announced United States-led maritime coalition to reopen the Strait of Hormuz will work alongside – rather than compete with – an existing initiative spearheaded by France and the United Kingdom.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global energy supplies, typically carries around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
