Iran war live: Tehran says diplomacy continues but no deal yet with US
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said indirect talks with Washington continue but no concrete agreement has been reached. President Trump repeated that 'Iran is the number-one state sponsor of terror in the world', while tanker movement in the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained and Brent trades around $99.
Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said at a 23 May press briefing in Tehran that indirect talks held via Oman and Qatar are continuing but that no concrete agreement has yet been reached with Washington. Baghaei said 'our position on keeping the uranium stockpile inside the country is firm', recalling that Tehran is insisting on retaining its 60-percent enrichment in place and securing the release of frozen assets.
US President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that 'Iran is the number-one state sponsor of terror in the world', while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on ABC that 'we are strengthening the practical basis for an imminent agreement'. Türkiye Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, and Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir's third Tehran visit in a week was described by officials as 'mediation progressing steadily'.
According to Reuters, daily tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz remains at about 38 percent of the pre-war average, and Brent crude closed Friday at $99.28. EUROPACE official Anders Knape said in Brussels that the EU will discuss a dedicated Iran-Hormuz package at the 28 June summit. A bipartisan US Senate war-powers resolution introduced jointly by Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Democratic Senator Tim Kaine is scheduled to be voted on Tuesday.
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