Mystery shrouds the prospect of official talks between the US and Iran to stop the war in West Asia, but reports have emerged of feelers from America in the shape of a 15-point ceasefire plan sent via Pakistan.
The US reportedly wants Iran’s nuclear facilities dismantled, stockpile of enriched uranium handed over, nuclear-weapon ambitions renounced and missile threat capped, plus the Strait of Hormuz opened and more, all in lieu of relief from bombs and sanctions.
Iran recently reiterated its right to enrich uranium while asking for reparations and a no-aggression commitment as conditions to stop its attacks. To this list, it later added a closure of all US military bases in the region and formal control over the Strait of Hormuz.
These are maximum-payoff positions on both sides. Any deal would involve give-and-take. Can that happen? America is stepping up its force deployments while Iran seems unlikely to ease its Hormuz chokehold that’s holding the world ransom.
Which side, if any, will back down is far from clear, but their eyeroll-worthy demands show that the gulf between the warring sides is much too wide to pin hopes of peace on. A Hormuz showdown is clearly still on the cards.