Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi has stated that Iran had pushed back a proposal put forward by the United States during the indirect talks as the American demands were unacceptable.
The talks started in Islamabad, via intermediaries, with the US side proposing a plan which Iran felt it could not accept, Gharibabadi said. The Iranian delegation has clearly accepted the proposal, he said.
The deputy foreign minister said that the U.S. officials had told the negotiators the talks would be deemed a failure if the proposal is rejected. Both countries had been talking about a plan to prevent Iranian nuclear development, but Iran rejected it, leading the U.S. delegation to walk away and leave, he added.
Iran did not ask the negotiations to be extended or try to coerce the US delegation to stay in the talks, Gharibabadi said. He dubbed Tehran’s effort as “principled and dignified diplomacy.
Gharibabadi spoke of discussions that took place in Oman following the reimposition of restrictions in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The Omani delegation suggested maintaining an open route for commerce along the southern sea until the two sides come to an agreement, after which the route would be closed, he said. But Iran refused to agree to the proposal.
Gharibabadi reiterated Tehran’s stance, saying Iran’s policy had remained unchanged since the start of the conflict and it wouldn’t agree to any proposal that ran contrary to Tehran’s principles. Iran’s policy on the Strait of Hormuz, however, has not changed, he added.
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