Efforts to reach a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in West Asia have again hit a roadblock with Iran refusing to meet US officials for talks in Pakistan, calling the demands put forth by Washington as “unaccetable”, the Washington Street Journal has reported.
The report said mediation attempts led by regional countries, including Pakistan, have stalled, marking a setback in diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.
Iran has informed mediators that it is unwilling to meet US officials in Islamabad in the coming days and considers Washingtonโs demands unacceptable, the report added.
“Current mediation efforts led by regional countries, including Pakistan, to broker a ceasefire between the United States and Iran have reached a dead end,”ย the report said, stressing a major setback in diplomatic efforst to defuse the conflict.
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The development comes despite continued efforts by regional intermediaries, with Pakistan playing a key role in trying to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
What happens next?
Turkey and Egypt are continuing efforts to revive stalled talks and are exploring ways to move the process forward, including identifying alternative venues.
Doha and Istanbul are being considered as potential locations for fresh rounds of negotiations, as mediators work to break the current deadlock.
Officials said intermediaries are also trying to formulate new proposals aimed at bridging differences between the sides.
US fighter jet downed by Iran, pilot missing
Reports of Iran’s refusal come at a crucial juncture and on a day when Iran claimed shooting down a US warplane in its territory and capturing one of its pilots. The development has not been confirmed by either the White House or the Pentagon yet, but US media reports cited American officials saying one of the pilots has been rescued from Iranian territory and search and rescue operations are underway to locate the second.
While Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) claimed they had shot down a US F-35 stealth fighter jet earlier in the day, American media reports and experts claim that it was an F-15 E aircraft that was downed. The F-35 is a single-pilot aircraft while the F-15 E is a twin-pilot warplane.
Trump briefed
AP reported White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying that President Donald Trump has been briefed on the situation,ย without providing further details. The US military has yet to confirm specifics about the aircraft.
Last month, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it targeted and damaged an F 35. The US military later said the jet had landed in a friendly country and that the incident was under investigation.
Also read:ย One pilot rescued, search on for other after US fighter jet shot down in Iran