Iran says 60-day deadline ‘lost its relevance’ after US ‘violations’ of memorandum | The Express Tribune

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday said that the 60-day deadline for talks with the United States following the June 17 memorandum of understanding “lost its relevance” after what he called “flagrant” violations by Washington.

“There is no provision in the memorandum of understanding referring to a ‘60-day deadline’, and the Islamic Republic of Iran never formulates its policies under pressure, ultimatums or time limits,” Baghaei told reporters at a weekly news conference, as cited by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

The memorandum instead envisaged 60 days for negotiations on two issues — “the lifting of sanctions” and “the nuclear issue” — which could have been extended if no agreement was reached, he added.

“Due to the flagrant and widespread violation of the memorandum of understanding by the United States, no dialogue was started just a few weeks after its signing,” Baghaei said.

“As a result, the discussion of the 60-day deadline completely lost its relevance,” he added.

The spokesman claimed that the US sanctions had “no impact” on Iran, saying the main obstacle to resolving disputes between Tehran and Washington “is not a lack of mediators”.

“Countries such as Pakistan and Qatar are already playing a role in Iran-US relations,” Baghaei noted.

“It is also entirely natural for some European countries to express their views and indicate their readiness in bilateral contacts to offer their ‘good offices’,” he said. “But this does not mean that a new mediator has emerged or been accepted in the course of Iran-US relations.”

Hormuz transit

The Iranian spokesman said negotiations with Oman on a maritime transit in the Strait of Hormuz are continuing.

“Compilation of the maritime traffic route map with Oman has taken time due to the security complications caused by the actions of the US and the Israeli regime, the multiplicity of actors and the disruption of malicious currents,” he added.

Baghaei said a possible understanding following talks with Muscat would take the form of a package comprising a roadmap and a joint statement.

The spokesman said the fate of missing Iranian pilots remains on Tehran’s agenda.

“Diplomatic relations with Qatar do not conflict with the serious pursuit of the fate of the army pilots,” he said.

On March 2, Qatar’s Defence Ministry announced that it had shot down two Su-24 aircraft from Iran. Tehran said at the time that four pilots were killed when their aircraft were hit during attacks on a US base in Qatar. Iran also said the remains of one pilot had since been recovered, while the fate of the other three pilots remained unknown.

On Saturday, Qatar rejected Iranian accusations that the three pilots had been detained by Doha.

Read: Strait of Hormuz defenders will ‘break your legs’, Iran army chief to Trump

The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb 28, with Tehran launching retaliatory strikes targeting countries hosting US military assets across the region.

Tehran and Washington agreed to a ceasefire in April and subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending their military conflict and reaching a lasting peace agreement.

​​​​​​​The deal, however, collapsed last month, with Iran and the US exchanging attacks for nearly two weeks before US President Donald Trump abruptly halted the bombardment amid efforts to revive the agreement.