UN calls for restoration of maritime rights amid looming truce deadline
The United Nations has called for the full restoration of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz as Washington and Tehran send conflicting messages on a new round of peace negotiations amid a looming ceasefire deadline.
In a news briefing on Monday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the UN chief was concerned over ongoing restrictions in the strait and maritime incidents over the previous 48 hours, and called for a “full restoration” of international navigational rights and freedom of navigation.
Dujarric said there had been “a lot of activity” and “a lot of confusion” over the status of the strategic waterway, as he called for the freedom of navigation to be “respected by all parties” and rejected any military objective “that justifies the wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure” or the deliberate infliction of pain on the civilian population.
Meanwhile, US-based media outlet Axios first reported that US Vice-President JD Vance was expected to arrive in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Wednesday morning, as the Donald Trump administration’s Iran war ceasefire deadline expires on Wednesday evening.
Al Jazeera reported that Vance is set to lead the US delegation for a second round of talks with Iran, which is said to include Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and US president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump told US broadcaster PBS News on Monday that “lots of bombs” would go off in Iran should the ceasefire expire without an agreement.
There have been reports that Trump may attend the Islamabad talks in person, Reuters reported. The New York Post had earlier quoted Trump as saying he had no problem meeting senior Iranian leaders if a “breakthrough” is reached.
It is unclear whether the Iranians would be joining the negotiations, but the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting said in a post on X on Tuesday that “no Iranian diplomatic delegation — be it a primary or secondary team or an initial follow-up mission — has traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan, so far”.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X on Monday that “honoring commitments is the basis of meaningful dialogue”.
“Deep historical mistrust in Iran toward US government conduct remains, while unconstructive & contradictory signals from American officials carry a bitter message; they seek Iran’s surrender. Iranians do not submit to force,” Pezeshkian wrote.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the US actions and contradictory positions are incompatible with claims of diplomacy, and that Tehran will take appropriate decisions to safeguard its national interests and security, according to a report by Iran’s Mehr News Agency.
‘Immediate responses’
Senior Iranian military commander Ali Abdollahi said Iran’s armed forces are ready to deliver “immediate and proportional responses to any enemy threats”, Tasnim News Agency reported.
In a statement marking the anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Abdollahi said the Iranian nation takes pride in the IRGC and other forces for inflicting heavy missile and drone strikes on Israel and the US.
He also said the forces would not allow the US administration to exploit the situation or fabricate false narratives about the battlefield, particularly regarding developments in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, condemned a US attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman, calling it “maritime piracy” and a grave violation of international law, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.
The ministry issued a statement on Tuesday, a day after the US military targeted and seized Iranian container ship Touska near Iran’s southern coastline, according to the report.
The ministry called on the UN and the International Maritime Organization, as well as other governments, to take “firm and decisive” responses to “the criminal act” against international commercial shipping and said Iran would use all available capacities to defend its national security and interests.
Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told France Inter radio that the ongoing US-Iran conflict has triggered “the world’s worst-ever energy crisis”.
He said the crisis is already huge, “if you combine the effects of the petrol crisis and the gas crisis with Russia”.
Contact the writers at jan@chinadailyapac.com