Iran says US is looking for a 'face-saving' way to escape the war ahead of peace talks

by · TheJournal.ie

IRAN’S DEFENCE MINISTRY has said the United States is seeking a “face-saving” way to exit the war, as US envoys travel to Pakistan for a second round of mediated peace negotiations.

“Our military power today is a dominant force, and the enemy is looking for a face-saving way to escape the war quagmire it has become trapped in,” media outlet ISNA quoted a ministry spokesperson as saying.

US President Donald Trump has sent emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, this time without Vice President JD Vance. 

(From the left) Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has already arrived in the Pakistani capital.

The White House said Witkoff and Kushner would engage in an “in-person conversation” with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said that direct negotiations were not in the cards.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, meets with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad, Pakistan Alamy Stock PhotoAlamy Stock Photo

“The Iranians reached out, as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, adding that the talks would “hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal”.

Leavitt said Vance, who led a first round of negotiations in Islamabad two weeks ago that concluded without a deal, would not be joining for the time being, but was on “standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary”.

Meanwhile, a ceasefire between the US and Iran remains in place but the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, remains shut to maritime traffic.

Iran closed the strait after a brief reopening when the US began a naval blockade of its ports. 

In a statement carried by Iranian state media outlet IRIB, the military’s central command Khatam Al-Anbiya said that if “the invading US military continues blockading, banditry, and piracy in the region, they should be certain that they will face a response from Iran’s powerful armed forces”.

“We are ready and determined, while monitoring the behaviour and movements of enemies,” it added.

In Lebanon, where a separate ceasefire agreement is supposed to be in place, Israeli strikes killed six people yesterday. 

With reporting from AFP