Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Iran said on Monday that it is close to finalising a joint statement with Oman on a plan to manage the movement of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, as the 60-day period set for a US-Iran peace deal expired without any sign of a breakthrough. It remains unclear whether the plan will meet Washington’s demand for the full reopening of the waterway.
advertisement
At the same time, talks over Gaza also remained deadlocked. US negotiator Jared Kushner met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after holding talks in Egypt with Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya on disarmament, with both sides still divided over a US-backed road map to move the truce deal forward.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that Tehran and Muscat had reached an agreement on the shipping plan and were now working to finalise the details in a joint statement. “An understanding has been reached regarding the map of the transit route,” he said. Details that had emerged earlier suggested that ships would enter through a route close to Iran and leave through a route close to Oman, without paying fees or tolls during the interim period.
The US has been seeking an acceptable deal on reopening the strait before ending its blockade of Iranian ports, and it was not clear whether the current plan would satisfy Washington. Iran had effectively closed the strait after Israel and the US attacked the country on February 28. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil supplies passed through the waterway.
Baghaei said the talks with Oman had moved slowly, but added: “but we had planned, and still plan, to finalise the understanding in the form of a package: the map plus a joint statement.” His remarks came as the deadline for an agreement to end the war passed without any indication of progress between Tehran and Washington.
On Gaza, Kushner’s meetings with Netanyahu came a day after he met al-Hayya in Egypt for talks on disarmament. Netanyahu had earlier rejected a 15-point, US-backed road map to advance the truce process. Hamas said it had agreed to the plan, which includes disarmament, and urged mediators and the US-created Board of Peace to “compel” Israel to sign on as well. Israel, however, said Hamas must fully disarm before any Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israeli troops currently occupy about 60 per cent of the strip, and Netanyahu has previously threatened to advance further.
The developments left both major tracks of diplomacy in the region unresolved, with Iran and Oman still working to finalise their Strait of Hormuz plan and Israel and Hamas remaining at odds over the Gaza road map.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
