Pak sends new Iranian peace proposal to US

Iran Media Says US Offered Interim Waiver On Oil CurbsIran sent a new peace proposal to the US with terms that appeared similar to offers Washington has previously rejected, although a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that the US had softened positions on some issues.A Pakistani source confirmed that Islamabad, which has conveyed messages between the sides in the war in West Asia since hosting the only round of peace talks last month, had shared the latest proposal with Washington. But the source suggested progress had been difficult. The sides “keep changing their goalposts,” the Pakistani source said, adding: “We don’t have much time.”Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei confirmed that Tehran’s views had been “conveyed to the American side through Pakistan” but gave no details. Washington did not immediately comment.The Iranian proposal, as described by the senior Iranian source, appeared similar in many respects to Iran’s previous offer, which US President Trump rejected last week as “garbage”. It would focus first on securing an end to the war, reopening the Strait of Hormuzand lifting maritime sanctions. Contentious issues around Iran’s nuclear programme and uranium enrichment would be deferred to later rounds of talks, the source said.However, in an apparent softening of Washington’s stance, the senior Iranian source said the US had agreed to release a quarter of Iran’s frozen funds — totalling tens of billions of dollars — held in foreign banks. The Iranian source also said Washington had shown more flexibility in agreeing to let Iran continue some peaceful nuclear activity. Iran’s Tasnim news agency separately quoted an unidentified source as saying the US had agreed to waive oil sanctions on Iran while negotiations were under way. Iranian officials did not immediately comment on Tasnim’s report, which a US official, who declined to be named, said was false.REUTERS