Donald Trump announces new peace talks with Iran in just two days, and indicates where the talks will take place
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that peace negotiations with Iran could resume in Pakistan in the next two days, according to an interview given to the New York Post, Reuters reports.
“You should stay there (in Pakistan, no), really, because something could happen in the next couple of days, and we're leaning toward going there more,” Trump told the US publication.
Trump also said Pakistan's army chief, Marshal Asim Munir, was doing an “excellent job” in the negotiations.
“It's more likely, you know why? Because the marshal is doing an excellent job. (…) He's fantastic, and therefore we're more likely to go back there,” Trump added.
Trump forged a bond with Air Marshal Asim Munir last year while Pakistan was at war with India, a conflict that ended after just four days in a US-brokered peace deal.
“Why should we go to a country that has nothing to do with this?” Trump also told The Post, referring to Pakistan.
The two major sticking points in the negotiations
Earlier on Tuesday, two people familiar with the ongoing negotiations told NBC News that another round of face-to-face talks between the Washington and Tehran delegations could take place as early as this week.
The news came after talks led by US Vice President JD Vance in Pakistan over the weekend failed to reach a peace deal to end the war. Both Vance and President Donald Trump on Monday offered hope for further negotiations, even as US forces launched a blockade that prevents ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.
Opening the Strait of Hormuz to free shipping is a major sticking point in negotiations for any kind of deal, one of the people told NBC News. Iran's nuclear capability is another sticking point, the second source revealed.
The US asked Iran, during marathon talks in Islamabad (Pakistan) last weekend, for a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment, this second source said. Tehran agreed to three to five years, which Trump said was not acceptable.
A US official told the US television station that there is an ongoing dialogue between the US and Iran and that progress is being made in trying to reach an agreement.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump imposed a naval blockade on Iran's ports, which went into effect on Monday, although two ships departing from Iranian ports managed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
