EU lawmaker says Iran rights situation risks being overlooked in US-Iran talks

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Ankara was working to extend a ceasefire between the United States and Iran and support continued talks.

Erdogan said Turkey aimed to ease tensions and was hopeful negotiations would continue despite challenges.

He added that attacks on Lebanon were harming peace efforts and that the opportunity created by the ceasefire should be used.

The United States has not formally agreed to extend the ceasefire with Iran, but engagement between the two sides is ongoing, Axios reported, citing a US official.

“The US has not formally agreed to an extension of the ceasefire,” the official said.

“There is continued engagement between the US and Iran to reach a deal,” the official added.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that China had agreed not to send weapons to Iran.

“China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also - and the world,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran,” he added.

Trump also said he expected to meet China’s President Xi Jinping in the coming weeks and described cooperation between the two countries as positive.

“We are working together smartly, and very well,” he said, adding the United States was prepared to fight if needed.

US Marines are conducting close-quarters tactics training aboard the USS Tripoli as the amphibious assault ship operates in the Arabian Sea and enforces a blockade of Iranian ports, US Central Command said on Wednesday.

“Tripoli is currently executing a mission to blockade ships entering and departing Iranian ports,” CENTCOM said in a post on X.

The command said the blockade was being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations.

It added that the training was aimed at preparing Marines for missions such as maritime interception operations.

Iran said contacts with the United States are continuing through Pakistan, with multiple messages exchanged since talks in Islamabad.

“Message exchanges between Iran and the US via Pakistan are ongoing,” the foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, adding that “from the day the Iranian delegation returned, multiple messages have been exchanged.”

He said a visit by Pakistani officials to Tehran is likely and is intended “to discuss the views of both sides” as part of follow-up diplomacy.

“We entered negotiations to end the war, secure Iran’s rights and obtain war reparations,” Baghaei said.

He said Iran’s positions “have been clearly stated,” adding that the country’s nuclear program “has not been for anything other than peaceful purposes.”

Baghaei said no decisions can be made on specific elements of any deal until an overall framework is agreed.

“As long as the overall framework of an understanding is not agreed, one cannot speak about accepting or rejecting its details,” he said.

He added that speculation in Western media “cannot be confirmed” and said Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy under the non-proliferation treaty “is inherent and cannot be taken away.”

At the same time, he said the level and type of uranium enrichment “can be discussed within the framework of the country’s needs.”