Friday 01 / May / 2026
Iran has sent a new proposal for talks with the US to Pakistan, which has emerged as a key mediator between Tehran and Washington as the war drags on, Iranian state news agency IRNA said.
Iranian state broadcaster IRIB reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also made a series of phone calls to several of his counterparts today about "new initiatives related to ending the war."
Araghchi spoke with foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Azerbaijan, the report said. Araghchi also spoke with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
Pakistan is yet to confirm the news.
US President Donald Trump extended a ceasefire with Tehran on April 21 but the US military maintains its blockade of Iranian ports.
UN chief calls for dialogue to end Middle East crisis
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has reiterated a plea for immediate negotiations to "open a pathway to peace" in the Iran war.
In a post on X, the UN chief stressed that the "consequences of the Middle East crisis grow dramatically worse with each passing hour."
"The curtailment of navigational rights & freedoms in the area of the Strait of Hormuz disrupts energy, transport, manufacturing & food markets & strangles the global economy," he wrote.
Iran has largely kept the strategically important strait closed to ship traffic, sending prices soaring and sparking concerns about the supply of fertilizer, fuel and other commodities. At the same time the US is maintaining a blockade on Iranian ports.
A ceasefire is currently in place, but talks between the two sides have stalled.
"Now is the time for dialogue, for solutions that pull us back from the brink & for measures that can open a pathway to peace," Guterres said.
