ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON/DUBAI, April 14 (Reuters) - Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.
Gulf, Pakistani and Iranian officials also said negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week, though one senior Iranian source said no date had been set.
"You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there," Trump was quoted as saying in an interview with the New York Post.
While the U.S. blockade drew angry rhetoric from Tehran, signs that diplomatic engagement might continue helped calm oil markets, pushing benchmark prices below $100 on Tuesday.
Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global waterway for oil and gas transport, since the war began on February 28. Roughly 5,000 people have died in the hostilities.
Talks in Islamabad last weekend did not yield an agreement, raising doubts over the survival of a two-week ceasefire that still has a week to run.
Iran's nuclear ambitions were a key sticking point. The United States had proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran, while Tehran had suggested a halt of three to five years, according to sources familiar with the proposals. The U.S. has also pressed for any enriched nuclear material to be removed from Iran.
One source involved in the negotiations in Pakistan said backchannel talks since the weekend had produced progress in closing that gap, bringing the two sides closer to a deal that could be put forward at a new round of talks.
It was unclear what kind of nuclear deal could be quickly agreed by the U.S. and Iran, given the complexity of the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that Trump withdrew from in 2018, and the likely need for monitoring and verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran also wants international sanctions removed, a move the U.S. could only pledge with broader support.
IMF CUTS GROWTH OUTLOOK
U.S. Central Command said no ships made it past its blockade of Iranian ports in the first 24 hours it was in place, while six merchant vessels turned back.
Centcom said more than a dozen U.S. warships were involved in the blockade, which only applies to ships going to or from Iran.
However, shipping data showed the blockade had made little difference to Strait of Hormuz traffic on Tuesday, with at least eight ships crossing the waterway.
The latest standoff has further clouded the outlook for global energy security and the supply of goods that rely on petroleum.
The International Monetary Fund cut its growth outlook and said the global economy would teeter on the brink of recession if the conflict worsens and oil stays above $100 per barrel into 2027. The International Energy Agency meanwhile slashed its forecasts for global oil supply and demand growth.
The United States' NATO allies including Britain and France said they would not be drawn into the conflict by taking part in the blockade, although they have offered to help safeguard the strait when an agreement is in place.
China, the main buyer of Iranian oil, said the U.S. blockade was "dangerous and irresponsible" and would only aggravate tensions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized China for hoarding oil during the war.
Analysts say oil prices are likely to remain elevated for weeks after the strait is fully reopened, due to backlogs, damaged infrastructure, and elevated uncertainty.
ISRAEL-LEBANON TALKS CONCLUDE
Further complicating prospects for peace, Israel has continued targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel and the United States say that campaign is not covered by the ceasefire, while Iran has insisted it is.
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted a meeting between envoys for Israel and Lebanon, the first time the two countries have engaged in direct negotiations since 1983. Lebanon sought a ceasefire to end Israeli strikes that have killed more than 2,000 people and forced 1.2 million from their homes, while Israel was pressing for Beirut to disarm Hezbollah.
The U.S. State Department said afterward that the two sides agreed to continue their talks. Israel's ambassador to the U.S. said he was hopeful the Lebanese government wanted to reduce Hezbollah's influence, while Lebanon's ambassador to the U.S. said in a statement that the meeting was "constructive," and the date and location of the next meeting would be announced in due course.
Lebanon's government sought the negotiations despite objections from Hezbollah, which Israel wants to see disarmed before any peace deal.
CEASEFIRE HOLDING
With the war unpopular at home and rising energy prices causing political blowback, Trump paused the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign last week after threatening to destroy Iran's "whole civilisation" unless it reopened the strait.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from April 10 to 12 after the ceasefire was announced showed that 35% of Americans approve of U.S. strikes against Iran, down from 37% a week earlier.
The ceasefire has largely held over its first week despite sharp rhetoric from both sides.
An Iranian military spokesperson called any U.S. restrictions on international shipping "piracy", while Trump said Iran's navy had been "completely obliterated" and that only a small number of "fast-attack ships" remained.
"Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED," Trump wrote on social media.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux, Writing by Ros Russell, Aidan Lewis and Michael Martina; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Peter Graff, Hugh Lawson and Nia Williams)
