Oil rises amid Hormuz uncertainty and rocky Iran-US talks

Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said a draft joint statement is being prepared following talks between the United States and Iran in Switzerland, offering a tentative sign of progress after a day marked by tensions and conflicting accounts from the negotiating parties.

Naqvi said the statement would only be released if all sides agree to its contents, indicating that discussions remain ongoing and that no final understanding has yet been reached.

Iranian media reported that Tehran declined to return to four-way negotiations after a break, citing what officials described as threatening comments by US President Donald Trump.

Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, blamed Washington for Israeli actions in Lebanon.

"Based on the understanding with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States is responsible for the Zionist regime's aggression and provocative actions in Lebanon and must be held accountable," he wrote.

Rezaei added that any threat directed at Iran would also be attributed to Washington.

"If Iran is threatened, we will hold the Americans responsible."

Iranian parliament speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has used a dramatic image from Iran's World Cup match against Belgium to draw a parallel with the country's defense during the recent conflict.

Posting a photo showing goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and Iranian defenders scrambling to keep the ball off the goal line, Ghalibaf wrote: “This is how we protect our land.”

The image came from Iran's 0-0 draw against Belgium on Sunday, a match in which Beiranvand delivered a series of crucial saves to preserve a point for the Iranian side.

Iran has not returned to four-way negotiations with the United States despite ongoing mediation efforts by Qatar and Pakistan, according to a report by the IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency.

Citing an informed source, Tasnim said talks involving Iran, the United States and mediators began at around 3 p.m. local time and were paused after roughly 90 minutes for consultations among the delegations.

However, the Iranian delegation declined to return to the talks after the break because of what the source described as President Donald Trump's "threatening and insulting" remarks.

According to the report, Qatar and Pakistan continued efforts to bridge differences between the two sides and have been exchanging messages between the delegations. Those efforts were continuing at the time of publication but had not yet produced a final outcome.

During the talks, the Iranian delegation reportedly protested what it described as US violations of commitments, particularly those related to the first clause of the memorandum of understanding.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Israel has no intention of withdrawing from its security zone in southern Lebanon, underscoring the continuing tensions surrounding one of the most contentious issues in regional diplomacy.

"Israel has no intention of withdrawing from the Beaufort, which is an integral part of the security zone in Lebanon and essential for the defense of the Galilee settlements and IDF forces," he wrote on X.

Katz added that the policy had the full backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.