ISLAMABAD, June23: Iran’s president arrived in Pakistan for talks Tuesday with officials mediating negotiations between Tehran and Washington on a permanent end to the war in the Middle East, even as discrepancies emerged on what had been agreed so far and violence broke out again in Lebanon.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s visit to Islamabad comes as technical teams were working on details of the deal following high-level negotiations in Switzerland Monday led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.
US, Iran in dispute
The US and Iran were in dispute Tuesday over whether Tehran had agreed to allow UN inspectors to view bombed Iranian nuclear sites, as officials mediated talks on a permanent end to their war and violence broke out again in Lebanon.
The differing accounts came as Iran’s president met with Pakistani officials mediating negotiations and while technical teams were working on details following talks in Switzerland between the US and Iran.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that UN inspectors were not scheduled to examine the nuclear sites bombed by the US last year, refuting comments made a day earlier by Vance. In response, President Donald Trump posted on social media that Iran had agreed to nuclear inspections long into the future, saying that without this concession “there would be no further negotiations!”
Meanwhile, violence flared again in southern Lebanon as Israeli soldiers opened fire, killing two people. The reports of violence came after two days of calm following a ceasefire brokered on Saturday. Any renewal of heavy fighting could threaten the broader diplomatic talks, since Iran has demanded that a full truce in Lebanon be part of any comprehensive deal.
Israel occupies part of Lebanon and insists it must be able to attack militants launching attacks into northern Israel.
Plan underway to evacuate stranded seafarers through the Strait: UN
A United Nations agency said Tuesday that a plan is underway to evacuate 11,000 stranded seafarers through the Strait of Hormuz.
The International Maritime Organization announced the plan.
Its secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, said in a statement that “this large-scale operation will be carried out in close cooperation with Iran, Oman, all other coastal states in the region, the United States and the maritime industry.”
Discrepancy on Iran’s use of unfrozen funds
Following the high-level talks in Switzerland, Vance had said if Iranian financial assets were unfrozen, they would be used to buy American-grown food.
Vance said the US and Qatar would have approval over the process, but if Iranian money becomes accessible as sanctions are lifted, it “would actually go to buy American soy, American corn and American wheat for the benefit of the Iranian people.”
However, Iran has no current demand for US crops and Baghaei said on Tuesday that Tehran’s decisions on what to import would be based on “prices and quality.”
Iran’s ambassador in Geneva, Ali Bahreini, also questioned Vance’s contention that the US and Qatar would have to approve how Iran uses unfrozen funds.
Israel questions Lebanon ceasefire
Mediators in Pakistan and Qatar said the “de-confliction cell” created to stop fighting between the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israel would include the Lebanese government and would “ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon.” But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised new questions late on Monday, saying his military still has “full freedom of action to thwart any direct or emerging threat to them or to the residents of the north.”
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the US-Iran deal, and Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.
When asked about Netanyahu’s comments, Trump said “we’re going to take a look at it,” adding that the situation would “get solved.”
The main highway leading south from Beirut was jammed Tuesday with people displaced from southern Lebanon returning to their homes.
Lebanon and Israel planned another round of direct talks in Washington, which were expected to focus a plan for an Israeli withdrawal. (AP)
