WASHINGTON(National Times)- US and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of war that would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran, sources close to the talks said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The strait, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil passes, has become the central bargaining chip in efforts to end the war. Iran wants relief from a blockade that is strangling its economy; Washington wants free passage restored for ships on the vital oil route that Tehran has kept closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talks are complicated by a familiar diplomatic problem: neither side wants to move first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two Iranian sources, two regional officials and two Western diplomats said the most workable option now on the table was a staged arrangement \u2014 Iran allowing ships through Hormuz in return for an end to the blockade and, potentially, access to frozen assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne way forward would be to solve the crisis in stages. The first would be to end the blockade and reopen Hormuz,\u201d a senior Iranian official said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such a deal would require Donald Trump to accept another interim arrangement, after a previous understanding collapsed in July. The US president has suggested a fuller agreement might only be reached after November\u2019s midterm elections. A senior European official said Iranian negotiators arrived in New York \u201cwith a very long list of demands\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House, for its part, has shown little urgency. \u201cIran is desperate for a deal, President Trump holds all the cards and will make whatever decision is best for the United States,\u201d a White House official said, adding that \u201ccrushing sanctions\u201d and \u201cone of the most successful blockades in history\u201d had left Tehran \u201ccompletely broke\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, the official suggested, was content to let an \u201cinevitable Iranian collapse\u201d continue rather than be rushed into concessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dennis Ross, a former US negotiator, put the chances of a deal before the midterms at roughly 30 per cent, though he noted both sides had reasons to want an agreement sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe blockade is what\u2019s really squeezing the Iranians. It\u2019s strangling them,\u201d he said. A pre-election deal could suit Trump too, easing Gulf tensions and helping bring down petrol prices at home. After the vote, Ross said, the president may feel freer to escalate pressure or consider military options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tehran, meanwhile, is hedging. Even as it explores a diplomatic exit, Iran is preparing for the possibility of renewed conflict, accusing Washington of using the blockade and the threat of force as instruments of coercion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur fingers are on the trigger,\u201d the senior Iranian official said. \u201cThe Americans know what they need to do but, because of their excessive demands, the chances of diplomacy resolving this are extremely low.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regional sources said Iran was prepared to drop, or at least set aside, its demand for transit fees on shipping through Hormuz in order to prioritise ending the blockade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIran is not primarily focused on imposing tolls in Hormuz but on preserving its administrative control of the waterway,\u201d the senior official said. \u201cIran may be willing to defer the toll issue, but they are not going to give up administrative control of the strait.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the heart of the diplomacy in New York is a fundamental tension. Washington wants pressure to produce concessions, Tehran wants pressure removed before making them, and the Gulf states want the conflict resolved without allowing the region\u2019s strategic waterways to become enduring bargaining chips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a separate meeting in New York, Gulf leaders pressed Trump for clarity on his strategy beyond the midterms, including whether Washington would resume military action if Iran refused to negotiate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They made clear their rejection of any Iranian control over Hormuz, insisting freedom of navigation be restored and that the strait must not become a tool of coercion \u2014 while also urging de-escalation, reflecting Gulf states\u2019 desire to stay out of further confrontation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still not clear what Trump\u2019s endgame is, or what the alternative to the pressure campaign would be,\u201d said Ebtessam al-Ketbi, president of the Emirates Policy Center in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Iranians, by contrast, know what they want. They\u2019re reshaping the regional landscape through Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb with a clear objective, while Washington has yet to define its roadmap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alan Eyre, another former US negotiator, warned that the blockade\u2019s pressure could backfire: rather than softening its position, he said, Tehran was more likely to escalate, believing that any sign of weakness would prove fatal to the regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adding to the diplomatic pressure, a coalition of 80 countries called at the UN on Thursday for the full restoration of maritime navigation in the Gulf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe call for the full restoration of navigational rights and principles without delay,\u201d said Bahrain\u2019s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, reading a joint statement to journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UAE suspends Iranian airline flights<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a further sign of tightening pressure, the United Arab Emirates announced on Thursday that it would no longer accept flights operated by Iranian carriers, aligning itself with US sanctions targeting Iran\u2019s aviation sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dubai has long been a key destination for Iranian airlines, serving multiple daily flights and a large Iranian community with close business ties to the emirate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE\u2019s General Civil Aviation Authority said the suspension was \u201cbased on the US sanctions imposed on Iranian airlines preventing them from using airports around the world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UAE, which was hit by thousands of Iranian missiles and drones early in the war, suspended trade and financial exchanges with Iran last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Wednesday its central bank blocked transactions with Iran\u2019s Bank Melli, citing breaches of money-laundering, terrorism-financing and arms-proliferation rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One passenger told AFP an Iran Airtour flight from Tehran to Dubai was cancelled shortly before departure on Thursday, after tickets had already been issued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Washington imposed sanctions on Iran\u2019s aviation sector in early September, giving airlines until Wednesday to comply \u2014 including by halting the refuelling of Iranian aircraft \u2014 or risk being cut off from the dollar-based financial system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s main carriers were forced to cancel international flights this week as neighbouring states adopted similar restrictions; Turkmenistan turned back a flight from Tehran to Dushanbe on Thursday, an Iranian aviation official said, because it had not authorised the airline to fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A handful of smaller Iranian carriers continue to operate abroad, notably to Armenia and to China, which has declined to follow Washington\u2019s sanctions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National Times)- US and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of war that would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran, sources close to the talks said. The strait, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil passes, has become the central […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n