Negotiations between the United States and Iran are ongoing under the framework of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the Foreign Office has said (Geo News).
The statement is a claim to continued relevance as much as a description of process. The memorandum, brokered by Pakistan in June, set out a 60-day period of talks covering freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes, and sanctions. It partially reopened the strait before collapsing in early July after Iran fired on ships using a channel it does not approve.
Since then the operative diplomacy on the waterway itself has moved to Oman, which controls the opposite shore and has proposed a regional deal, with Gulf states backing a formula that would let Iran collect voluntary rather than mandatory fees from vessels using the strait.
American strikes on Iran were paused earlier this week after 13 consecutive nights, a pause reported to be deliberate so as not to disrupt in-person diplomacy, and Iran said it had halted retaliatory attacks on US allies in response.
Pakistan and Qatar remain the principal channels between Washington and Tehran, with a 10-day truce proposal still outstanding.
Oil prices have eased. Brent fell more than a dollar on greater flows despite the continuing conflict (Geo News).
The characterisation of the negotiations is the Foreign Office’s own, and neither Washington nor Tehran has confirmed that the Islamabad framework governs the current round.
