DUBAI/BEIRUT/CAIRO/ISLAMABAD: Iran said on Friday that Iranian assets must be unblocked and a ceasefire take hold in Lebanon before peace talks with the United States can proceed, throwing last-minute doubt over negotiations scheduled for Saturday in Pakistan.
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on X that the two measures had been previously agreed with Washington and that talks would not start until they are fulfilled, amid mounting dispute over the ceasefire terms.
This was echoed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also demanded an end to Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon. Both officials are expected to be at the talks, Pakistani sources said.
While there was no immediate comment from the White House, US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the only reason the Iranians were alive was to negotiate a deal. “The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!,” he said.
Trump, who did not specifically address the Iranian demands, earlier told the New York Post that US warships were being reloaded “with the best ammunition to resume strikes on Iran if peace talks in Pakistan fail”. Vice President JD Vance, who will lead the US delegation, said he expected a positive outcome as he headed to Pakistan, but added: “if they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive”.
Iran has been unable to obtain tens of billions of dollars of its assets in foreign banks, mainly from exports of oil and gas, due to US sanctions on its banking and energy sectors.
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