Iran hopes that diplomatic efforts to avert a war with the US will bear fruit within days, the Islamic Republic’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
Multiple countries in the Middle East have acted as intermediaries to exchange messages with the US, Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for the ministry, said. He added that any military conflict “won’t be confined to Iran’s geographic boundaries.”
“We are reviewing and making decisions on the details of each diplomatic track, which we hope will yield results in the coming days,” he said.
The comments underline the recent flurry of activity to lower tensions in the region as US President Donald Trump threatens the Islamic Republic with military action if it doesn’t agree to a deal to curb its nuclear program.
Oil prices fell sharply in early trading on Monday, partly because of the heightened diplomatic maneuvers, with Brent dropping around 4.5% to $66.20 a barrel. Prices are still up roughly 8.5% this year because of the still-high chances of a conflict in the oil-rich region.
On Sunday Trump said American naval assets were “a couple of days” away from Iran, while Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned of a “regional war” if his country is attacked. Tehran has previously threatened to retaliate with strikes on Israel and US bases in the region.
Diplomatic Push
Trump also said unspecified Gulf allies were negotiating with Iran to reduce tensions and he’s hopeful that “we’ll make a deal.”
Baghaei, the spokesman, said Iran’s priority in talks was sanctions relief and that it is “realistic” in its approach.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has held talks with counterparts in Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates since Friday.
“Structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,” Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani said Saturday.
UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed canceled a state visit to Japan that was planned for later this week due to the Iran tensions, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported, citing unidentified state officials.
The UAE government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Bloomberg.
Some of Japan’s biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas also said they will skip a key conference in Qatar this week because of security concerns.
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