Khamenei Funeral Puts Iran-US Talks On Hold. Hormuz, Nuclear Program Hold Key To Peace
Iran’s observance of slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral has put in abeyance peace talks with the US to find a resolution to the Middle East conflict.
Top Iranian leaders attended the ceremonies which will end on July 9. Iran’s new supreme leader and son of the late Khamenei, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is yet to make an appearance in the funeral ceremonies.
Mojtaba is in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the airstrike that killed his father.
The Iranian leadership’s appearance is an indicator that Tehran does not expect strikes, but Iran is also seen as increasingly pushing back on US demands in the talks, Associated Press reported.
The top focus now is on the contentious Strait of Hormuz, which has remained relatively peaceful. On Sunday, a cargo ship came under attack off the coast of Yemen in the Red Sea, according to the British military.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained a flashpoint between Iran and the US ever since the Middle East conflict erupted following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, that killed Khamenei on February 28, the day the attacks began.
Iran appeared to have orchestrated the funeral ceremonies as a show of defiance as it claims control over the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point through which a fifth of the world’s energy supplies were routed before the war began.
The vital waterway’s closure by Iran rattled global energy markets and spurred inflationary concerns, with oil prices rising to as much as $120 per barrel at one point of time.
The US has reportedly rejected Tehran’s demands on control of the Strait and a move to levy a toll for transit.
But other issues including a halt to the conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon have to be sorted out. The final step for Washington’s negotiators would be to reach an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program. The US wants its nuclear stockpile dismantled, while Tehran insists these are for peaceful purposes.
The US has assisted 70 transits of ships through the Strait of Hormuz over the past 72 hours, including 18 on Saturday, a multinational maritime body overseen by the US. Navy said Sunday, according to the AP report.
A UK-France joint statement on the Strait of Hormuz, that said the NATO countries “stand ready to deploy the wider Multinational Military Mission to support freedom of navigation” through the waterway, has further irked Iran.
The strategic waterway is not a theatre for displaying military prowess, a top Tehran aide warned the day funeral ceremonies began.
The US has acknowledged that the threat level remained “substantial” for passage of ships, and said mine clearance and surveying work continued.
Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies will end Thursday after the burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, his place of birth.
The appearance of Iran’s top officials and brothers of the new supreme leader in public on Sunday to attend the funeral ceremonies is also being interpreted as Tehran’s acceptance that lasting peace may be possible.
Orchestrated chanting of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” during the ceremoneis by the crowd could be a ploy to pacify hardline elements in Iranian establishment, who have reportedly vowed to pursue the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump.
During the earlier ceasefire in April, Israel had reportedly targeted top leaders tracking their public appearance. The Israeli threat to assasinate the new supreme leader remains.
The Trump administration is pressing ahead with negotiations seeking a full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and rolling back its disputed nuclear program.
