Axios: intermediaries held talks with US and Iran to de-escalate

Representatives of Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia held a series of telephone negotiations with the leadership of the US and Iran in order to achieve de-escalation between the two countries and their return to direct negotiations.

This was reported by the Axios portal, citing sources.

"Large-scale diplomatic efforts are being made to agree with both sides on de-escalation, and then set a date for the next round of negotiations between technical groups," one of the portal's interlocutors noted.

Representatives of the mediating countries believe that they have already partially succeeded in reducing tensions. This was also confirmed by a diplomatic source of Axios in the US.

The US and Israel began a war with Iran on February 28. As a result of air strikes, among others, the Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei was killed. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Then in the Swiss Bürgenstock, negotiations between the US and Iran took place with the mediation of Doha and Islamabad on the implementation of the memorandum. As noted in a joint statement by Qatar and Pakistan after the first round, the meeting with the participation of representatives of Iran and the US took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere, encouraging progress was achieved, including the foundation for further technical consultations was created. However, on the night of July 8, the US resumed large-scale strikes on Iran, accusing it of violating the terms of the agreements reached regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: TASS