US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced hope on Thursday of progress on ending the war with Iran, with mediator Pakistan’s army chief due to arrive in Iran for talks.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The expected visit by Field Marshal Asim Munir, a powerful figure with a growing role in Pakistan’s foreign relations, comes a day after US President Donald Trump warned that negotiations to end the war were on the “borderline” between a deal and renewed strikes.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“I believe the Pakistanis will be travelling to Tehran today. So hopefully that’ll advance this further,” Rubio told reporters on Thursday, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A ceasefire on April 8 halted the war launched weeks earlier by the US and Israel, but negotiation efforts have so far failed to yield a lasting peace agreement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
A war of words has taken the place of open conflict but the impasse continues to weigh on the world economy, leaving everyone from investors to farmers in a painful state of uncertainty.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Iran’s ISNA news agency said Munir’s visit was aimed at continuing “talks and consultations” with Iranian authorities, without providing details. Other Iranian media carried the same report.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Pakistan hosted in April the only direct negotiations between US and Iranian officials to take place since February 28, the day the war began.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Munir was at the center of the action during that round of talks, greeting both delegations on their arrival and displaying remarkable bonhomie with US Vice President JD Vance.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
But the talks ultimately failed, with Iran accusing the US of making “excessive demands”.<\/p>\n
\nSince then, the two sides have exchanged multiple proposals, with the threat of renewed war looming all along.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“It’s right on the borderline, believe me,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “If we don’t get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We’re all ready to go.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He said a deal could come “very quickly” or “in a few days”, but warned Tehran would have to provide “100 percent good answers”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rubio also criticized NATO allies for their refusal to help Trump’s war against Iran.<\/p>\n
“He’s not asking them to commit troops. He’s not asking them to send their fighter jets in. But they refuse to do anything,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“We were very upset about that.”<\/p>\n
\nTehran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday accused Washington of seeking to restart the war, warning of a “forceful response” if Iran were to be attacked.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“The enemy’s movements, both overt and clandestine, show that despite economic and political pressure, it has not abandoned its military objectives and is seeking to start a new war,” Ghalibaf said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was examining points received from Washington, while repeating Tehran’s demands for the release of its assets frozen abroad and an end to a US naval blockade.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Trump is under political pressure at home as energy costs rise.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The ceasefire halted the fighting but has not reopened the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The future of Hormuz remains a key sticking point in the negotiations, with fears growing that the global economy will feel more pain as pre-war oil stockpiles run down.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Iran imposed the blockade of Hormuz as part of its retaliation in the war, allowing only a trickle of vessels through in recent weeks while introducing a toll system.<\/p>\n