Iran war: What’s happening on day 59 amid diplomatic push to end conflict?

Iran has stepped up diplomatic efforts to end the war with the United States, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shuttling between Pakistan and Oman on Sunday before flying to Russia on Monday.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Iran could telephone if it wanted to negotiate an end to the two-month US-Israel war on Iran after scrapping a visit ⁠⁠to Islamabad by his representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The two main sticking points are the issues of Iran’s nuclear programme and access to the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which remains under de facto Iranian blockade.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have escalated attacks against Lebanon, killing at least 14 people on Sunday despite a US-brokered ceasefire.

Here is what we know on day 59 of the conflict:

War diplomacy

• Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi arrived in Saint Petersburg early on Monday and is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Russian and Iranian state media.

• Discussions on ⁠⁠bilateral ties ⁠⁠and regional issues, including the US-Israel war on Iran, will be held, Araghchi said.

• According to Araghchi, Iran and ⁠⁠Oman, as coastal states of the Strait of Hormuz, had agreed to ‌‌continue expert-level consultations to ensure safe transit and protect ‌‌shared ‌‌interests in the waterway.

• Araghchi said his talks in the Pakistani capital were “very productive” and included a review of “the specific conditions under which negotiations between Iran and the US could continue”.

• Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Islamabad, said according to one diplomatic source, recent events have “served as a catalyst”, reinforcing the view that “there needs to be a permanent end to hostilities”.

• “We are being told here in Islamabad that we are inching towards a framework of sorts, which will provide a background to which all of these sides can come to an agreement – and not just the Iranians and the Americans, but essentially the Gulf countries as well,” he reported.

• Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy to international organisations in Vienna, said the US must abandon “blackmailing” and “ultimatums” in its negotiating position if talks with Iran are to move forward.

In Iran

• Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had no intention of unblocking the Strait of Hormuz.
• “Controlling the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the shadow of its deterrent effects over America and the White House’s supporters in the region is the definitive strategy of Islamic Iran,” the IRGC said on its official Telegram channel.