ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: A US-Iran arrangement may be close after recent diplomatic signals, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Tuesday. He described the possible outcome as a regional peace deal.
“Things are shaping up again in favour of a peace arrangement or a deal,” Asif told Bloomberg News on Aug. 11.
Asif said signals from the previous two or three days pointed toward an arrangement. He did not announce terms, a timetable or a signed agreement.
Pakistan has mediated between Washington and Tehran during the Middle East conflict, CBS News reported. Oman and Qatar have also joined those efforts.
Read: Iran Reparations Demand by Trump Lifts Oil Prices 5%
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi arrived in Tehran for talks on Tuesday, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency.
The comments followed new demands from President Donald Trump of the United States. CBS reported that Trump sought compensation from Iran and claimed US control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Read: Hormuz Reopening Deal: Iran Sets Conditions for US
Oil prices eased after Asif’s remarks. Brent crude fell 21 cents to $87.51 per barrel. About one-fifth of daily global oil and liquefied natural gas passed through Hormuz before the conflict. Asif did not specify whether the US-Iran arrangement covered the waterway.
