Despite the continued exchange of blows between the United States and Iran, officials from both sides expressed a willingness to return to the diplomatic track, at a time when energy prices rose with the escalation of tensions in the region.
A senior source revealed to Al Arabiya channel, on Monday, discussions regarding a proposal that includes a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz for a period ranging between 10 days and two weeks.
In the same context, Reuters quoted an Iranian official as saying that the mediators proposed a ceasefire for 10 days, with the aim of discussing ways to revive the memorandum of understanding.
In parallel, a source in the Pakistani Interior Ministry reported that the Iranian Interior Minister, Eskander Momani, would visit Islamabad, which plays the role of mediator between Washington and Tehran.
The source told Agence France-Presse that Momani will hold talks with Pakistani officials, without clarifying whether the visit is related to Pakistani mediation efforts to end the conflict between the United States and Iran.
Momani previously participated in mediation talks and met Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who visited Tehran more than once.
For his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei revealed that Tehran had received proposals from mediators seeking to prevent further escalation, but he declined to reveal their details.
Baghaei stressed that Tehran will continue the paths of war and diplomacy in a manner that takes into account its national interests, rejecting the binary choice between them, and considering that diplomacy, like war, is a tool for achieving national interests.
He added that the Iranian diplomatic apparatus has been active in recent days, and that Tehran has received messages and ideas through a number of intermediaries.
On the other hand, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States is still open to a diplomatic solution, noting that Iran has sent messages, directly or through intermediaries, expressing its desire to negotiate.
He added that Washington has tried repeatedly with Iran and will continue to try, stressing that it welcomes the opening of the door to negotiation, but stressed that Tehran’s behavior must change in order for the behavior of the United States to change.
Despite these statements, there are still no signs of an imminent resumption of talks, a week after the military strikes that ended the ceasefire announced last month, according to the New York Times.
The memorandum of understanding signed by Tehran and Washington in June to end the war stipulated the reopening of the strait, in exchange for the United States lifting the blockade imposed on the ports of the Islamic Republic.
Tehran pledged that the situation in the Strait would not return to its normal state after the war, and spoke of imposing “service allowances” for crossing it, which Washington rejects.
With the resumption of military actions by both sides, Iran resumed targeting ships and oil tankers trying to cross the strait via a route along the Omani coast, stressing that it would not allow ships to cross except via the route it had specified along its coast.
