(Update: 2nd paragraph, 5th sentence: UN Secretary General Guterres adds)
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON/TEHRAN (dpa-AFX) – After the aborted peace talks between the United States and Iran, Pakistan is working on resuming negotiations. Islamabad wants the talks as soon as possible, the German Press Agency learned from Pakistani diplomatic circles.
China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are also in discussions with both warring parties. It was said that the countries had submitted a proposal to continue negotiations in Islamabad this week. According to the information, China has advised Iran to engage in further talks. There is currently no official confirmation of new negotiations. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in New York: “The indications are that it is highly likely that these talks will resume.” According to unconfirmed reports, a second meeting is planned for this Thursday.
French head of state Emmanuel Macron called on US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian to resume peace negotiations. Misunderstandings must be cleared up and further escalations avoided, said Macron.
The USA and Iran are still far apart
Over the weekend, the USA and Iran held direct talks mediated by Pakistan in Islamabad for the first time since the start of the war, which ended without any tangible result. US Vice President JD Vance then spoke of real progress. However, he sees it as Iran’s turn to give in on the issue of its nuclear program. According to media reports, the demands of the two sides are far apart.
According to Vance, the US is primarily concerned with two things: getting highly enriched uranium out of the country and preventing Tehran from enriching uranium again. The Iranians approached the USA on these two points. “But they didn’t move far enough,” Vance said. When asked, he left it open whether and when further negotiations would take place.
The Iranian side spoke, among other things, of “excessive demands” from the USA. Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian once again blamed the USA for the failure of peace talks. Excessive demands and the “lack of political will among high-ranking US officials” had prevented an agreement, Peseschkian said in a telephone conversation with French President Macron, according to a report by the state-run English-language broadcaster PressTV.
Dispute over the Strait of Hormuz
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is stepping up the pace against the leadership in Tehran. It bars ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz if they have Iranian ports as their destination or starting point. The rulers in Tehran had previously largely blocked the strait, which is important for international oil transport. As Macron emphasized, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz without conditions, controls and tolls is one of the conditions for resuming negotiations to end the Iran war.
France and Britain organized a video conference of countries not involved in the conflict on Friday to discuss a purely defensive mission to allow free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as soon as the security situation allows. Macron recently spoke of a dozen countries that wanted to take part in such an initiative. Who exactly will be at the conference initially remained unclear.
Meanwhile, oil prices fell slightly in the hope of an agreement between the USA and Iran. In the morning, 98.62 US dollars were paid for a barrel (159 liters) of Brent crude oil from the North Sea, 0.74 percent less than the previous day. The price of crude oil from the USA fell even more sharply. Here the price fell by 1.72 percent to $97.38 in the morning.
World Bank warns of negative consequences of war
In view of the Iran war, World Bank CEO Paschal Donohoe warned of the loss of millions of jobs and more difficult access to food in emerging and developing countries. “We are very concerned about the impact that this conflict could have on the availability and prices of food,” the former head of the Eurogroup told the German Press Agency. According to the United Nations World Food Program, up to 45 million additional people could go hungry because of the war by mid-2026.
According to Donohoe, up to 15 million jobs could be lost as a result of the Middle East conflict. “Every day that the conflict continues brings us closer to the high end of our damage projections,” he said.
Donohoe: Before inflation is after inflation
The emerging and developing countries would have to prepare for an additional inflation shock of up to almost four percent. Many countries that had only recovered from the previous rise in inflation are now faced with another drastic rate of inflation, said Donohoe. The reason for this is rising inflation as a result of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is causing a collapse in the supply of raw materials.
In the short term, the World Bank is able to provide affected governments with $20 to $25 billion, said the former Irish finance minister. The funds to stabilize households and secure basic services would have to be redistributed from other investments./evs/DP/he
