Iran weighs US peace proposal despite ‘deep and significant’ disagreements

A visit by Pakistan’s army chief to Tehran is seen as a sign of significant progress in negotiations.Iran’s mission to the United Nations has accused Washington of “excessive demands” that are pushing peace talks towards collapse amid reports that United States President Donald Trump’s administration is preparing for strikes on Iran if negotiations to secure a deal fail.Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir landed in Tehran on Friday and met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi late into the night. The pair “exchanged views on the latest diplomatic efforts and initiatives to prevent escalation of tensions”, according to a post on Araghchi’s Telegram channel.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US-Iran diplomacy picks up: What’s the latest?list 2 of 3Pakistan’s army chief in Iran as US’s Rubio says ‘slight progress’ in talkslist 3 of 3Are India and Pakistan quietly preparing to restart dialogue?end of listTrump also confirmed on Friday that he would not attend his son’s wedding and would stay in Washington due to “circumstances pertaining to government”, prompting speculation that the situation had entered a sensitive stage. The US president described this week’s negotiations as on the “borderline” between renewed attacks and a deal to end the war.Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei cautioned that Munir’s visit did not mean “we have reached a turning point or a decisive situation”, as “deep and significant” disagreements remained, according to Iran’s ISNA news agency.Al Jazeera’s Tehran correspondent Resul Serdar Atas said “the visit of [Field Marshal] Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief of the army, to Tehran is itself a sign of significant progress in the negotiations”.Atas said Araghchi had held phone calls with his Turkish, Iraqi, Qatari and Omani counterparts, as well as with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, about the state of the peace talks.