UN Secretary General António Guterres has urged the United States and Iran shortly before planned talks in Pakistan to make a serious effort to reach a lasting settlement of the conflict.
The two sides should use the talks in Pakistan as an opportunity “to engage in good faith towards a lasting and comprehensive agreement, with a view to de-escalation and preventing a return to hostilities,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday.
The talks in the Pakistani capital Islamabad are due to begin on Saturday. The US delegation is to be led by Vice President JD Vance.
It remained unclear until the last minute whether the Iranian delegation would take part in the talks. Tehran has made its participation conditional on an end to Israeli attacks on the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. So far, however, Israel has continued its attacks on Hezbollah in the neighbouring country.
A ceasefire between the United States and Iran has been in place for the past few days, initially limited to two weeks.
Further points of dispute in the talks are likely to include reopening the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, Iran’s nuclear programme and uranium enrichment, the development of ballistic missiles and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
Iran is demanding the lifting of all sanctions. In addition, Tehran is seeking reparations to offset the destruction caused during the war.
The Iranians have travelled to Islamabad with a large delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, according to the Iranian news agency Fars. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is also part of the delegation.
ANEWS
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