Iran’s government said that peace talks with the United States, dubbed as ‘Islamabad talks’ and brokered by Pakistan, concluded after 14 hours of negotiations. The talks began on Saturday and went on well beyond midnight, according to Pakistan local time.
The talks will continue on Sunday as both the countries did not reach any understanding on their differences in the last round of talks, said Iran’s local media.
Iran’s government said that now, technical teams from both the countries are exchanging “expert texts” and that negotiations will continue even though some difference remained.
“Iran-U.S. talks mediated by Pakistan concluded after 14 hours. Technical teams from both sides are now exchanging expert texts. Negotiations will continue despite some remaining differences,” Iran’s government said.
Also read: ‘Excessive demands’, ‘Strait of Hormuz’: Inside US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan
According to several reports, it was the Strait of Hormuz, as expected, that emerged as a major flashpoint between both the parties as they did not reach an understanding over the key waterway’s control.
The United States Centcom, its military unit in West Asia, said that two Navy warships passed through the Strait of Hormuz to start clearing mines in the Strait.
“USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,” it said.
However, the claim was denied by the Iranian forces that said that any attempts to cross the Strait will lead to repercussions.
“Any attempt by military vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz will be dealt with severely,” said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Naval Command, according to state broadcaster IRIB.
Also read: ‘Makes no difference to me’: Trump on whether Iran, US will make a deal
‘Excessive talks’
Amid the talks on Saturday, Iran’s media claimed that the United States made “excessive demands” regarding the Strait of Hormuz, which became a critical sticking point in negotiations.
“The US is making excessive demands regarding the Strait… the US has also made unacceptable demands on several other issues,” said Iran’s Fars news agency.
The Strait of Hormuz hosts around one-fifth of the world’s oil transit and has become a major factor during the ongoing conflict, which is on a two-week ceasefire currently.
‘Makes no difference to me’
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump maintained that the United States has won the war and said that whether the two countries reach a deal or not “makes no difference” to him.
He said that Iran’s navy and air force is defeated and its leaders are dead and added that the US is now working on opening the Strait of Hormuz.
“Think of it, we have defeated their navy, we have defeated their air force, we defeated their entire aircraft, we defeated their radar, we defeated their leaders, their leaders are all dead. And now, what we do is we open up the Strait of Hormuz even though we don’t use it because we have a lot of other countries in the world that do use it, that are either afraid or weak or cheap, I don’t know what it is, but we were not helped by NATO, that I can tell you,” the US President said.
