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ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan: Peace negotiations with Iran would only succeed without \u201cpressure and threats,\u201d Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday, amid deadlocked efforts to end months of fighting in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Diplomatic efforts to end the seven-month conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, have been at an impasse since the summer.<\/p>\n
The United States and Iran agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for ending the conflict, but Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz prompted a resumption of US military operations.<\/p>\n
Recent indirect talks between Washington and Tehran on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly failed to produce a breakthrough.<\/p>\n
\u201cDialogue holds meaning and a chance of success only when based on mutual respect and mutual commitments, and when devoid of pressure and threat,\u201d Pezeshkian said at a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Turkmenistan.<\/p>\n
\u201cNegotiation conducted in the shadow of force is not negotiation, it is imposition and coercion,\u201d he said, adding that sanctions on Iran would affect \u201cregional trade, connectivity, energy, and order.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pezeshkian said on Monday that talks with the United States to end the war were worthless and only resulted in renewed attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith an enemy that everyday resorts to assassination, sanctions, pressure and threats, and that breaks its commitments, negotiations are meaningless,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Washington has in recent weeks dialled back military operations in favor of economic pressure and has not struck Iran since September 1.<\/p>\n
The US and Israel have said the war was necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons \u2014 a goal Tehran has long denied pursuing.<\/p>\n
Iran Guards say struck tanker transiting Hormuz via \u2018illegal route\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday that they had struck a tanker attempting to take an \u201cillegal route\u201d through the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has sought to blockade since the outset of the Middle East war.<\/p>\n Iranian forces \u201chave taken control of the administration of the strait,\u201d the Guards said in a statement carried by the state news agency IRNA. <\/p>\n \u201cIn carrying out this mission, a few hours ago, a giant LPG carrier named NV Sunshine, owned by NatWit, which was attempting to transit via the illegal route south of the Strait of Hormuz, was struck.\u201d<\/p>\n The focus of negotiations has recently shifted to reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for oil from the Gulf that has been effectively shut since the fighting.<\/p>\n Iran has sought to impose its control over the vital shipping lane since the start of the war, striking vessels that attempt to transit without its authorization.<\/p>\n The US has imposed its own counterblockade of Iranian ports and has also struck vessels it accuses of violating it.<\/p>\n Putin, Pezeshkian meet<\/strong> <\/p>\n Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he would \u201cdo everything\u201d he could to help end the war during a meeting with Pezeshkian ahead of the summit, Russian media reported.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation,\u201d Putin said.<\/p>\n He added that Iran had made \u201creal efforts to end the war\u201d since the US-Israeli attacks started on February 28, according to Russian news agencies.<\/p>\n Putin also said there had been a \u201cpositive evolution\u201d in Iran-Russia relations.<\/p>\n The two countries, heavily sanctioned by the West, have reinforced diplomatic and military links since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, becoming increasingly reliant on each other.<\/p>\n Kyiv and Western countries have accused Iran of supplying Russia with Shahed drones and short-range missiles that Moscow uses in attacks on Ukraine.<\/p>\n US media outlets have reported Russia has supplied data to Iran for its attacks on US targets in the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are engaged in dialogue, but every time we negotiate with the United States, they attack again,\u201d Pezeshkian said at the talks with Putin, according to Iranian state media.<\/p>\n Tehran wanted to see a \u201cfinal framework\u201d to end the war, Pezeshkian said.<\/p>\n But he accused the United States of \u201ctrying to impose its policies and views on all countries.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf the United States insists on pursuing a unilateral approach, a resolution will not be possible,\u201d he said, according to state media.<\/p>\n Trump told the United Nations General Assembly in September that he had to choose whether to \u201cannihilate\u201d Iran if it failed to make a deal.<\/p>\n But the US leader has since ruled out attacking Iran again before the US midterm elections on November 3, saying on Thursday that Washington was holding \u201cproductive discussions\u201d with the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n The CIS was established in 1991 as a platform for dialogue among the former republics of the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n Some states have left \u2014 Georgia withdrew following a 2008 war with Russia, Ukraine halted its participation after Moscow\u2019s 2014 annexation of Crimea and Moldova left in 2023 as it sought closer ties with the European Union.<\/p>\n The summit comes as diplomatic efforts to resolve Russia\u2019s offensive in Ukraine also appear deadlocked, with both sides intensifying attacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n