Iran, US appear ready to communicate, though direct talks on hold

New York: Iran and the US appeared to be readying for communicating again, if at arm’s length and with secondary-level interlocutors, as a team from Tehran arrived in Pakistan and a US group was set to head there on Saturday.

After the second round of talks that was to have taken place this week or over last weekend didn’t take off because Iran refused to join, there has been some delicate manoeuvres by Tehran to reopen contacts.

As the stalemate continues, Tehran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, and the US has blockaded Iran’s ports.

And behind the facade of a ceasefire, the US has attacked and seized Iranian ships, and Tehran has attacked and seized ships, including one heading to India from Dubai.

While Iran has refused to negotiate with the US while the blockade was in effect, its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday, ostensibly as part of a round of consultations with Pakistan, Oman and Russia, according to Tehran.

Presumably, Araghchi will be there when US negotiators — US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Special Representative Steve Witkoff arrive there.

But Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei ruled out a direct meeting between them.

Taking to his social media platform X Baghaei said, “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US. Iran’s observations would be conveyed to Pakistan.”

Instead of a direct contact, the two sides may communicate through Pakistani intermediaries.

It could be like the failed indirect negotiations between the two sides in Geneva where Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi acted as the go-between on February 26 — two days before Israel began bombing Iran with the US joining in.

Kushner and Witkoff were in Geneva as was Araghchi.

US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Iran Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led their sides during the stalled direct negotiations on April 11, won’t be in Islamabad this weekend.

White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, however, told reporters that Vance “is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it’s a necessary use of his time”.

After having refused to participate in talks with the US till it lifted the blockade of its ports, Iran tried to pass off Araghchi’s Islamabad visit a routine matter involving three countries.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Araghchi on X said, “Purpose of my visits is to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments.”

Leavitt, however, was more open about the possibilities of negotiations and, even, a breakthrough.

She told reporters, “Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out” while “the President, the Vice-President, the Secretary of State (Marco Rubio), will be waiting here in the United States for updates.”

The White House Spokesperson added, “We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days.”

Trump announced a two-week ceasefire on April 7 ahead of the first round of talks, and before it was to end this week, he extended it indefinitely even though Tehran wasn’t resuming negotiations.

The US President said it was because “Iran is seriously fractured” and he was waiting for it to come up with a unified approach.

But Trump kept the blockade, which is now the centre of the standoff.

The split in Iran’s leadership that Trump referred to, between moderates and hardliners, became apparent last week when Araghchi, considered a moderate, said on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz was open, only to have the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reinstate it on Saturday.

Ghalibaf, a former IRGC Brigadier General, represents the hardliners and has continued with vehement attacks on the US.

Significantly, the Iran Parliament Speaker won’t be in Islamabad this weekend, and Araghchi by himself won’t have the clout for a decision.

Moscow has been a supporter of Tehran, diplomatically and materially, with direct shipping across the Caspian Sea beyond the reach of the US or the West.

Media reports have said that Russia was sharing intelligence with Iran and may be providing it equipment.

In this context, Araghchi’s Moscow consultations could have a bearing on Iran’s strategy.

IANS