Hopes of return to diplomacy as US-Iran hold fire for third day

Al Jazeera:

Mediators have expressed hope of progress in pulling the United States and Iran back to the negotiation table as the two sides maintained a pause in hostilities for a third day.

Middle East officials speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door talks told The Associated Press on Monday that mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan are continuing to work to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran.

The claims appeared to be supported by comments from Washington, and by the continued pause in US strikes following the sudden escalation of hostilities a fortnight or so ago.

However, Iran has downplayed talk of negotiations, and its drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq underscored the fragility of the situation, suggesting that Tehran, or at least the Iran-backed armed groups around the region, is seeking to test the new US approach.

US President Donald Trump claimed Iran had requested a meeting “through their surrogates and directly, and we’re meeting”.

“We’re talking with Iran right now,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We are having good talks.”

However, as he has so often, the US leader also issued threats should Iran fail to make an agreement.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman insisted that Tehran has not asked to resume ⁠⁠peace talks, noting that “mediators may convey messages to us from the American side”, but that there are no direct negotiations.