Lack of trust impeding talks to end war with US, says Iran’s top diplomat

Iran’s foreign minister has said a lack of trust is the biggest obstacle in negotiations to end the war with the US, saying that Tehran would be open to diplomatic help, particularly from China, to help ease tensions.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said contradictory messages have “made us reluctant about the real intentions of Americans”.

“We are in doubt about their seriousness,” he told reporters in New Delhi, India, adding that negotiations would move forward if Washington was ready for a “fair and balanced deal”.

US President Donald Trump earlier this week dismissed Iran’s latest formal proposal as “garbage”.

While Iran was said to include some nuclear concessions, Mr Trump has said he wants to remove highly enriched uranium from the country and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.

Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.

With talks between Iran and the US at a standstill during the shaky ceasefire, tensions remain high and threaten to tip the Middle East back into open warfare and prolong the worldwide energy crisis sparked by the conflict.

Iran still has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway where a fifth of the world’s oil passed through before the war, and America is blockading Iranian ports.

Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who finished talks on Friday, agreed the strait needs to be reopened.

Mr Araghchi said on Friday that Iran would welcome diplomatic support from other countries, particularly from China, citing Beijing’s previous role in facilitating the restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

“Chinese have a good intention. So anything that can be done by them to help diplomacy would be welcomed by the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

Beijing has shown little public interest in US requests to get more involved, even though Mr Trump told Fox News that Mr Xi had in their conversations offered to help.

Pakistan said on Thursday it was continuing diplomatic efforts to help ease regional tensions amid ongoing contacts over Iran-related ceasefire proposals.

But it declined to disclose details of the discussions or say whether the United States had formally responded.

“The clock on diplomacy has not stopped. The peace process is working,” foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad.

Mr Trump has demanded a major rollback of Iran’s nuclear activities while Iran has said that it has a right to enrich uranium.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who launched the war with Mr Trump on February 28, has also demanded that all of Iran’s highly enriched uranium be removed from the country.

Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday that the issue of its enriched uranium stockpile was one of the most difficult subjects in negotiations with the US.

Russia has previously offered to take the stockpile if Iran is willing to give it up.

Mr Araghchi said Russia’s proposal was not under active discussion, but could be revisited if negotiations progress.

“When we come to that stage, obviously we will have more consultations with Russia and see if the Russian offer can help or not. This is not something for the time being,” he said.