Iran keeps door open for talks with US

Iran recently told Pakistan it was prepared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Washington lifted its naval blockade, but accused US President Donald Trump of rejecting the proposal and insisting the blockade of Iranian ports would continue

Iran remains open to talks with the US under a Pakistan-brokered interim deal reached in June to end the conflict, Tehran’s ambassador to Islamabad said on Saturday, accusing Washington of undermining diplomacy and prolonging the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz.

On the other hand, Iran Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam said Iran recently told Pakistan it was prepared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Washington lifted its naval blockade, but accused US President Donald Trump of rejecting the proposal and insisting the blockade of Iranian ports would continue.

Moghadam, speaking at a seminar in Islamabad, said that Iranian officials had conveyed their willingness to reopen the Strait during visits to Tehran by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, provided Washington ended its blockade.

“Any further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz or elsewhere in the region will put civilian lives and the well-being of all regional States and the global economy at great risk,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in an opinion column in the Financial Times this week.

Meanwhile, the US Department is reducing staffing at four US embassies in the Middle East after receiving intelligence that Iran has stepped up efforts to target American personnel in the region and elsewhere.

In a memo sent on Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said his teams “have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel.”

“The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,” Clayton wrote.

The memo was obtained by The Associated Press and reported earlier by Axios. Three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that the memo was sent to Rubio in his capacity as secretary of state and national security adviser.

The memo emerged shortly after the State Department announced it is reducing staff at the US embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE. The three officials said the threats from Iran and Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are related to the staffing changes.

US officials have adamantly denied the drawdowns are tied to any potential new US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The unpopular war has spiked energy costs for Americans and posed political problems for President Donald Trump and Republicans, who are trying to keep control of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections.

Mediators have been trying to bring Washington and Tehran back to formal talks as the war has reached a stalemate.