Despite what Trump would like you to believe, recent days suggest he may not be the master dealmaker he claims to be… (shocking, we know).
On April 12, just days after a ceasefire was announced, peace talks between the U.S. and Iran began in Pakistan.
But despite hopes of an end to the weeks of fighting that have killed thousands of people across the Gulf, negotiations quickly unravelled with Iran reportedly rejecting almost all of the U.S. demands.
- A call for an end to all uranium enrichment (the process used to produce nuclear weapons)
- Dismantling all major enrichment facilities and the transfer of highly enriched uranium
- Stop funding for Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis
- Open the Strait of HormuzIt’s not just talks that broke down, but it looks like the ceasefire, which was announced on April 8, could also collapse.
Trump announced plans for his own blockade on the Strait of Hormuz to stop Iranian oil exports - cutting off one of the regime’s major sources of funding.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said any warships trying to enforce this would be considered in breach of the current ceasefire and would be “dealt with severely”.
PM Keir Starmer said “we are not supporting the blockade” and the UK is “not getting dragged in” to the Iran war.
He added that the UK was “focused, from our point of view, on getting the strait fully open”.
Spain also strongly criticised the decision, with Defence Minister Margarita Robles calling the blockade “something that makes no sense.” “It's one more episode in this whole downward spiral into which we've been dragged,” she said.
“I urge that the ceasefire be extended and talks continue,” Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said. “Success may require everyone to make painful concessions, but this is nothing as compared to the pain of failure and war,” he added.