An agreement is “still far away”, warns Iran three days before the end of the ceasefire

Three days before the expiration of a ceasefire between the belligerents, Iran has warned that a peace agreement is still far away with the United States, while the strategic Strait of Hormuz remains locked this Sunday. “We are still far from having concluded the debate,” declared the powerful speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. “We have made progress in the negotiations, but many differences remain and certain fundamental points remain unresolved,” he said.

The official had participated in talks in Islamabad with an American delegation led by Vice-President JD Vance, which ended on April 12 in failure. During this meeting, at an unprecedented level between the two countries since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, “we stressed that we have absolutely no confidence in the United States,” recalled Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. The latter urged them to “renounce unilateralism and the spirit of imposition in their approach to dialogue”.

The Strait of Hormuz still at the heart of tensions

Faced with the continued American blockade of its ports, Iran announced yesterday that it was resuming “strict control” of the Strait of Hormuz, reversing its decision the day before to reopen this sea route through which a fifth of world oil and gas trade normally passes. Shortly after, at least three commercial ships attempting to cross the strait came under fire.

“Any attempt to approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered cooperation with the enemy and the offending vessel will be targeted,” said the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army. “They are playing the smartest,” reacted, for his part, American President Donald Trump, denouncing “blackmail”. But at the same time he reported “very good conversations” with Tehran, contrasting with the tone on the Iranian side.

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The toughening, which risks causing new turmoil in the financial markets tomorrow, comes in the middle of a diplomatic ballet to bring Iran and the United States back to the negotiating table. Donald Trump assured on Friday that the main sticking points had been resolved, in particular on the nuclear aspect, at the heart of the disputes between the two countries for years. According to him, Iran – which denies wanting to acquire an atomic bomb – has agreed to hand over its highly enriched uranium, a crucial issue. What Tehran denied.