Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The United States and Iran have less than 60 days to reach a permanent deal to end the war, but the two sides still appear divided over the interim agreement they reached this month. It is also unclear when they will meet again, even as both sides signal that more talks are likely.
The uncertainty goes beyond diplomacy. Key issues remain unresolved, including shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and fighting linked to Lebanon. Although military strikes that both sides carried out over several days appeared to have paused on Monday, the wider dispute is far from settled.
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Iranian negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi said on X on Monday: “The situation is sensitive and complex.” On the question of fresh talks, US President Donald Trump posted: “IRAN HAS REQUESTED A MEETING. IT WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW IN DOHA!” But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said: “There are no negotiation meetings with the US side at any level scheduled in the coming days.”
The US and Iran have until roughly mid-August to agree on a permanent peace deal that includes Iran’s disputed nuclear programme. Before any fresh meeting between top negotiators, lower-level technical talks are expected. Pakistan, which is mediating along with Qatar, has said talks would resume on Tuesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Monday that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were flying to Qatar to meet the Iranians and that technical negotiations would take place on the sidelines. Later, Iranian state media quoted Baghaei as saying an expert delegation would travel to Qatar this week, but with no planned meetings with the US.
Among the main issues still to be discussed are arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions waivers on Iran and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The interim deal says fighting must stop before further negotiations continue. After the exchange of fire over the weekend, Iran on Sunday threatened a “complete halt” in talks. On Monday, both sides appeared to pause their attacks, suggesting Tehran may be waiting to see if that pause holds.
The Strait of Hormuz remains another major sticking point. The US says the interim deal keeps the strait open. Iran, however, says it must control the waterway. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday: “Any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and increase the level of tension.” Under the interim deal, Iran is meant to immediately facilitate commercial shipping through the strait between Iran and Oman, and can work with Oman and other Gulf countries to manage it under international navigation law. Iran says ships must use its designated routes and coordinate with its authorities, and it has objected to a new route overseen by the US along Oman. That dispute led to the fighting over the weekend. A US official said on Monday that Washington believes both sides are standing down and that vessels can move freely through the strait. Ships have started passing through again, though traffic remains below pre-war levels.
Lebanon is another unresolved front. Iran says fighting must stop everywhere and that Israel must withdraw from Lebanon before progress can be made on other issues. Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said on Saturday the group would resist Israel’s occupation of large parts of southern Lebanon, and that linking an Israeli withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament was a “very dangerous suggestion”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would remain in southern Lebanon “until Hezbollah and the rest of the terrorist organisations are disarmed, and until no further threat to Israel is posed from Lebanon”.
A separate set of US-brokered talks has been taking place between Israel and Lebanon’s government. Iran says its interim deal with the US, which calls for a complete ceasefire in Lebanon, requires Israel to pull out. But another US-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel allows Israeli forces to stay in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah has been disarmed. Hezbollah was not part of those talks and has rejected that arrangement. Hezbollah attacked Israel two days after it and the US attacked Iran on February 28, and Israel responded with air strikes and a ground invasion. Israel has said it will keep troops in southern Lebanon until the Hezbollah threat is removed, while Lebanon’s government does not have the ability to disarm Hezbollah by force. Sporadic clashes continued in Lebanon over the weekend, and that could further delay Iran’s return to the negotiating table.
For now, both diplomacy and the pause in fighting remain fragile. With disagreements continuing over talks, shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the situation in Lebanon, the US and Iran still have major differences to resolve before any permanent agreement can be reached.
With PTI Inputs
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
