Iran says it has received US response to its latest offer for talks

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida/DUBAI - Iran said on May 3 it had received a US response to its latest offer for peace talks, a day after President Donald Trump said he would probably reject the Iranian proposal because “they have not paid a big enough price”.

Iranian state media reported that Washington had conveyed its response to Iran’s 14-point proposal via Pakistan, and that Tehran was now reviewing it. There was no immediate confirmation from Washington or Islamabad of the US response.

“At this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations,” state media quoted Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying, an apparent reference to Iran’s proposal to set aside talks on nuclear issues until after the war ends and the foes agree to lift opposing blockades of Gulf shipping.

On May 2, Mr Trump said that he had yet to review the exact wording of the Iranian peace proposal, but that he was likely to reject it.

“I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but can’t imagine that it would be acceptable in that they have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years,” he wrote on social media.

Strait still shut

The United States and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and US and Iranian officials held one round of talks. But attempts to set up further meetings have so far failed.

Iran handed over its latest proposal on April 30, and a senior Iranian official confirmed on May 2 that Tehran envisions ending the war and resolving the shipping standoff first, while leaving talks on Iran’s nuclear programme for later.

Though Mr Trump initially said on May 1 that he was not satisfied with the Iranian proposal, he said on May 2 he was still looking at it.

“They told me about the concept of the deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now,” he told reporters. Asked if he might restart strikes on Iran, Mr Trump replied: “I don’t want to say that. I mean, I can’t tell that to a reporter. If they misbehave, if they do something bad, right now we’ll see. But it’s a possibility that could happen.”

Iran’s proposal vs Washington’s demands

The proposal to delay talks on nuclear issues until a later phase would appear at odds with Washington’s repeated demand that Iran accept stringent restrictions on its nuclear programme before the war can end.

Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400kg of highly enriched uranium, which the United States says could be used to make a bomb. Iran says its nuclear programme is peaceful, though it is willing to discuss some curbs in return for the lifting of sanctions, as it had accepted in a 2015 deal that Mr Trump abandoned.

While saying repeatedly he is in no hurry, Mr Trump is under domestic pressure to break Iran’s hold on the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked off 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas supplies and pushed up US gasoline prices. Mr Trump’s Republican Party faces the risk of a voter backlash over higher prices in midterm congressional elections in November.

Iranian media said Tehran’s 14-point proposal includes withdrawing US forces from nearby areas, lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, paying compensation, lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon and creating a new control mechanism for the strait.

Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. In April, the US imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports.

Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential diplomacy, the senior Iranian official said Tehran believed its latest proposal to shelve nuclear talks for a later stage was a significant shift aimed at facilitating an agreement.

“Under this framework, negotiations over the more complicated nuclear issue have been moved to the final stage to create a more conducive atmosphere,” the official said.

Israel orders Lebanon evacuations

On May 3, Israel ordered thousands of Lebanese to leave villages in southern Lebanon, an escalation of a war between Israel and Iran’s Hezbollah allies there that has run in parallel to the Iran war and could further complicate wider peace efforts.

Iran has said talks with Washington cannot resume unless a ceasefire also holds in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March to attack Hezbollah after the Iranian-backed Lebanese group fired across the border in support of Tehran.

Lebanon and Israel agreed a separate truce last month, but fighting has continued, though on a smaller scale. The Israeli military issued an urgent warning on May 3 to residents of 11 towns and villages in Lebanon’s south, urging them to evacuate their homes and move at least 1,000m away to open areas.

The military said it was conducting operations against Hezbollah following what it described as a violation of the ceasefire, warning that anyone near Hezbollah fighters or facilities could be at risk. REUTERS