US, Iran separately talk with mediators in latest bid to end war

WASHINGTON/DUBAI - US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Sept 28 as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, according to officials of both countries.Any further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.The war began in late February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, killing thousands of people over seven months and shocking global markets as vital waterways for oil remained choked.The US and Iran have twice previously agreed to ceasefires in mediated peace talks, in April and June. Those agreements quickly unravelled.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who remained in New York after attending the General Assembly, said Iran expected to receive the US response to its latest ceasefire proposals and its conditions for restoring passage of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA.“If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have presented that solution,” Araqchi said.US officials separately spoke with mediators on Sept 28, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving further details.Trump has flagged further talks this weekIran’s seven-day plan envisages an end to all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.Iran would then allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil tankers, and the two sides would also resume talks on Iran’s nuclear programme and Trump’s wish to seize or eliminate its highly enriched uranium.Trump said on Sept 26 he had rejected Iran’s proposal, saying Iran wanted a swift agreement because of the crippling economic pressure it is under.However, he also told Axios on Sept 27 that he expected US negotiators to engage in further talks this week.Araqchi said on Sept 27 that mediators had not formally conveyed a US rejection, and that Iran was awaiting Washington’s definitive position before deciding its next steps.“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” he said on Sept 27, adding that only a negotiated solution could resolve the impasse. REUTERS