The report cites two Pakistani officials in saying that “Iranian authorities have expressed willingness to send a delegation for a second round of talks in Islamabad this week”. Adding that there is “cautious optimism” between the US and Iran but could not share details of travel plans for either side due to security reasons.
Iran may have put up a stubborn front earlier in sending out a strong message. However, we have come to see that this hard line response has always been their negotiating position from the start of this war. As mentioned earlier:
“Iran continuing to maintain a hard line and uncompromising stance has always been their negotiating position from the get go. So, this is very much consistent with that brand. It was the same before the first round of talks but eventually there was some form of dialogue at the end of the day. So, it could very much be the case again this time around later this week.
That being said, having a conversation and agreeing to certain terms are two different things. And for now, there’s still a major gap on two key issues between the US and Iran.
First, it is that the US wants Iran to abandon its nuclear ambition and that doesn’t seem likely to happen now. It is still unsure whether there is power scuffle among the major ranks in Iran and who is in charge of aligning the view. But as things stand, the messiness in itself is enough to dictate that this particular issue will remain a sticking point in talks.
As for the second, it is the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. This is Iran’s most important leverage for negotiations and everything else in this conflict. To expect them to open up the waterways again without restriction is not something that they are willingly going to do.”
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.