‘Haphazardly’ laid mines leaves tankers crossing the Strait of Hormuz vulnerable to being blown up, US officials have said as talks between the US and Iran are underway
The Strait of Hormuz remains closed because Iran “haphazardly” laid mines in the shipping channel, US officials have said.
The Strait is a vital shipping lane for the world’s oil, and was closed by Iran following the outbreak of war with the US and Israel at the end of February. Since then only 12 ships have been allowed to pass through.
But US officials now claim the strait remains closed due to “haphazardly” laid mines leaving tankers vulnerable to being blown up with Iran unable to locate all of the explosives, reports the New York Times.
The US military said two destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. However, Iran’s state media earlier said Iran forced a US military ship that was attempting to cross the channel to turn around.
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“We’re sweeping the strait. Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me,” Mr Trump told journalists as talks continued and the time approached 2am in Islamabad. Iranian state TV noted what it called “serious” differences.
Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring. Iran’s 10-point proposal calls for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies,” explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.
The US and Iran have begun face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan days after a two-week ceasefire was announced, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.
The White House confirmed the direct nature of the talks. The US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian party led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf discussed with Pakistan how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose health ministry said the death toll has surpassed 2,000.
Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the most direct US contact had been in 2013 when President Barack Obama called newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear programme. The most recent highest-level meetings were between then secretary of state John Kerry and counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif during negotiations over the programme.
Now talks feature Mr Vance, a reluctant defender of the war who has little diplomatic experience and warned Iran not to “try and play us”, and Mr Qalibaf, a former commander with Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard who has issued some of Iran’s most fiery statements since fighting began.
Iran’s state-run news agency said the three-party talks began after Iranian pre-conditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met.
Iran’s delegation told state television it had presented “red lines” in meetings with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, including compensation for damage caused by US-Israeli strikes that launched the war on February 28 and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries.
