FOCUS ON HORMUZ, FROZEN ASSETS
The talks in Doha are structured as sessions between chief negotiators and specialists, the source with knowledge of the talks said. They began on Tuesday night and were continuing on Wednesday, said the Iranian official.
Iran has stated publicly that its priorities include agreeing on management of the strait and the release of US$6 billion in Iranian frozen assets, and the Iranian official said the current round of discussions would focus on those two issues.
The stated priority of the US is to ensure the free flow of traffic through the strait, the source with knowledge of the talks said. Iran’s state media said on Wednesday a foreign container ship had run aground in the Strait of Hormuz after entering shallow waters outside the shipping route designated by Iranian authorities.
“Hormuz continues to reopen but it’s patchy, unpredictable, and not fully transparent,” said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.
The war triggered Iranian attacks on Gulf states hosting US military bases and killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, as well as pushing up oil and fuel prices. Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday, after falling in previous days when the Iranian and US strikes and counter-strikes were halted.
The interim deal between the US and Iran also provides for an end to the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon. The US has backed a separate track of talks between Israel and Lebanon’s government, which produced a framework security deal that Hezbollah has dismissed and analysts warn could entrench a stalemate in Lebanon.
There had been intensive diplomatic activity on Lebanon between parties including the US, up to Tuesday evening, the source with knowledge of the talks said.
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