Pakistan, which has been mediating peace talks between the United States and Iran, announced on 24 June that a new round of technical talks between the two countries would take place next week.
“The talks will resume next week,” Tahir Andrabi, a spokesperson for the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters in Islamabad, without specifying a possible venue.
Andrabi’s statement came against a backdrop of intensified regional diplomacy, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a tour of the Gulf states aimed at reassuring Washington’s closest Arab allies, whilst the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bakir Kalibaf, visited Oman and Azerbaijan.
At the same time, tensions remain between Washington and Tehran over a final peace agreement.
Although oil exports and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have begun to resume after months of de facto blockage, as of 24 June, more than a thousand vessels were reportedly stranded in the Persian Gulf.
The issue of safe passage through the waterway remains key to a final resolution of the conflict. Iran is seeking to introduce a system of tolls for transit through the strait, whilst Rubio insists that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, rejecting the possibility of tolls.
“No country is permitted to levy tolls on an international waterway. This is established international law,” he said upon arriving in the United Arab Emirates on 23 June.
Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference in Azerbaijan, Calibaf described the interim agreement between the United States and Iran as “a declaration of America’s defeat”, adding that security in the Middle East should be managed by the countries of the region.