Mediator Pakistan pushes to get US-Iran peace talks on track

DUBAI/WASHINGTON - Pakistan stepped up diplomacy on Thursday to hasten U.S. and Iran peace talks even as Tehran appeared to harden its stance over nuclear materials amid new threats of strikes from U.S. President Donald Trump if he did not get the "right answers".

Six weeks since a fragile ceasefire took effect, talks to end the war have made little progress, while soaring oil prices are stoking inflation and straining the global economy.

Trump also faces domestic pressure ahead of November's midterm elections, with his approval rating near its lowest since he returned to the White House.

Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir will decide on Thursday whether to travel to Tehran for mediation, three sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.

Pakistan's interior minister was in Tehran on Wednesday.

STANCE ON ENRICHED URANIUM

"We're speaking to all the various groups in Iran to streamline communication and so things pick up pace," said one of the sources. "Trump's patience running thin is a concern, but we're working on the pace at which messages are relayed from each side."

Iran's ISNA news agency said Munir would travel to Tehran on Thursday for consultations. The text being discussed in Tehran is on the general framework, and some details and confidence-building measures as guarantees, the agency said.

However, Iran appeared to have hardened its stance over a key U.S. demand for the removal of enriched uranium from the country. Two senior Iranian sources told Reuters that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a directive that near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad.

Brent crude oil climbed after Mojtaba's remarks on Thursday, gaining almost 2% to $107 a barrel.

U.S. READY TO ACT FAST, TRUMP SAYS

Trump said on Wednesday he was willing to wait for Tehran's response but was also ready to resume strikes.

"Believe me, if we don't get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We're all ready to go," Trump told reporters.

"It could be a few days, but it could go very quickly."

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned that renewed attacks will trigger retaliation beyond its region.

Iran submitted its latest offer to the U.S. this week.

Tehran's descriptions suggest it largely repeats terms Trump previously rejected, including demands for control of the Strait of Hormuz, compensation for war damage, lifting of sanctions, release of frozen assets and the withdrawal of U.S. troops.

IRAN RESTATES SOVEREIGNTY OVER STRAIT

Iran's deputy foreign minister on Thursday restated Tehran's claims to sovereignty over the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas flows, saying aggression from the U.S., Israel and some regional states had fundamentally altered security in the waterway.

In a legal commentary, Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran could adopt "practical and proportionate measures" to protect its security and maritime safety, citing international law.

With the strait now effectively closed for almost three months, increasing shortages are pushing up energy prices across the globe in what the International Energy Agency has called the world's worst energy shock.

The IEA warned on Thursday that the peak of summer fuel demand coupled with a lack of new Middle East supply means the market could enter the "red zone" in July and August.

Some ships are managing to transit the strait, but only a trickle compared with the 125-140 daily passages before the war.

Iran's state TV reporter said on Thursday that around 30 vessels have requested to transit since Wednesday night. These vessels are coordinating with Iranian naval forces to pass and "will most probably do so by tonight", the reporter added.

Iran said it aimed to reopen the strait to friendly countries that abide by its terms. That could potentially include fees for access, which Washington says would be unacceptable.

"It would make a diplomatic deal unfeasible if they were to continue to pursue that. So it's a threat to the world if they were trying to do that, and it's completely illegal," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said their war aims were to curb Iran's support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear programme, destroy its missile capabilities and make it easier for Iranians to topple their rulers.

But Iran has so far retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, and its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles, drones and proxy militias.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Ariba Shahid in Karachi and Asif Shahad in Islamabad; Writing by Kate Mayberry and Sharon Singleton; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Andrew Cawthorne)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.