Iran, US not discussing ceasefire extension

DUBAI, Aug 12: There were no discussions between Iran and the United States to extend their ceasefire because, from Tehran's perspective, the deal had no start date and therefore had nothing to extend, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday.
The source's comments came after Turkey's Anadolu news agency, citing Pakistani government sources, reported on Wednesday that Tehran and Washington had agreed to extend a 60-day ceasefire under their interim deal signed in June.
The deal declared an "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts", but quickly unravelled, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying it was "over" on July 7 and Iran's foreign ministry declaring it "suspended" a week later.
"There is no talk of an extension because, from Iran’s perspective, there is no period that began and therefore nothing to extend. The United States violated the interim agreement 48 hours after it was reached and withdrew from it a few days later," the source told Reuters.
In the agreement, the 60-day period refers to an extendable timeframe within which Iran and the U.S. were expected to reach a final deal limiting Tehran's nuclear programme and lifting U.S. sanctions.
A series of requirements, such as a ceasefire in Lebanon, free navigation in the Gulf and waivers for Iran to sell its oil, were viewed as necessary before entering the further negotiation period.
"One of the issues that is being discussed via mediators is the U.S. returning to the interim agreement and defining a timeframe for implementing the commitments. There has been absolutely no progress on this issue," the source added.
The U.S. and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping on Tuesday as prospects for ending the Iran war appeared to dim, with Tehran saying the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepts its conditions.
The attacks, in the Gulf of Oman leading to the strait and at the entrance to the Red Sea �" both vital chokepoints for global oil supplies �" come as the war shows no signs of ending despite repeated assertions from U.S. President Donald Trump of a deal being imminent.
Oil prices gained and global shares retreated amid renewed pessimism about a quick end to the conflict. Brent crude futures climbed 1.4% to settle at $88.91 per barrel and U.S. crude rose 1.3% to $83.20.
At the southern end of the Red Sea, four crew members were killed in a suspected Houthi attack on a small cargo vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, Yemen's Transport Ministry said. Two Yemeni rescuers from an anti-Houthi military group were also killed, Yemen's Coast Guard said.
The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, if confirmed, would be the first deaths on shipping by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis since the Iran war began.
The Houthi-run news agency Saba reported that the group, which said last month it would impose a naval blockade on Saudi ⁠Arabia in the Red Sea, attacked a Saudi ship they said was carrying military equipment in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It did not name the ship, and there was no immediate Saudi response to the report.
The U.S. military, meanwhile, said a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles to disable the steering gear of a Panama-flagged cargo ship.
The ship ignored repeated warnings to stop violating a naval blockade on Iranian ports, the U.S. Central Command said. Maritime sources told Reuters the ship was hit off Pakistan while sailing into the Gulf of Oman.
Both Iran and the United States have stepped up rhetoric in the past two days.
Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said on Tuesday that the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping route will remain closed unless the U.S. accepts Iran's conditions to end the war �" the release of Iran's frozen assets and an end to conflicts throughout the region, including in Lebanon and Gaza.
That followed a new demand from Trump on Monday that Iran should pay compensation for people killed in 50 years of wars, attacks and protests.
Throughout the conflict, Trump has alternated between threats of escalation and claims that a peace deal is imminent.
In an interview released late on Monday, he suggested the uncertainty could last for a while, saying he might just "bop along" and let Tehran fail economically, or hit them "really, really hard."
"I'm sort of negotiating," Trump told Real America's Voice. "They're very devious negotiators."�"REUTERS