Workers remove debris at Tehran's Sharif University of Technology complex that Iranian authorities say was hit by a US-Israeli strike, in Tehran (AP Photo)
As the US-Israel Iran war entered the 39th day, a Pakistani security official said Iran has signalled flexibility on talks, but continued to push preconditions.
However, two Pakistani sources were quoted as saying by Reuters that Iran missile strikes on Saudi targets risk derailing negotiations. In response, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that although Pakistan has continued to convey messages, the US has not changed its tone.
According to one of the sources, a senior security official, Iran’s overnight attack on Saudi Arabia’s industrial facilities connected to US companies posed a threat to the negotiations. The source stated that the negotiations would end if Saudi Arabia responded to the strikes, and that retaliation might also force Pakistan to join the conflict in accordance with its defence pact with Riyadh. Iran is “walking on thin ice,” according to the second source, and the next three to four hours are crucial for the future of communication.
“We are in touch with Iranians. They have lately shown flexibility that they could join the talks, but they are at the same time taking hard lines as a prerequisite for any negotiations,” the Pakistani security source said to Reuters. He went on to say that Islamabad urged Tehran to start talks without any prior conditions.
On Tuesday, Iran hit Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical complex, the heart of the kingdom’s downstream energy sector and housing multi-billion-dollar joint ventures, Reuters reported.
Jubail, a sprawling industrial city, houses massive joint ventures between state-backed oil giant Saudi Aramco and its petrochemical subsidiary SABIC, and Western energy majors.
The IRGC said the attacks were “in response to the enemy’s crimes in the aggression against (Iran’s) Asaluyeh petrochemical plants,” which had reportedly been hit by several explosions overnight.
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The IRGC said in a statement it had “effectively targeted with medium-range missiles and several suicide drones” the Sadara complex, a $20 billion joint venture between Aramco and Dow that was shut last week, and other facilities in Jubail including one belonging to ExxonMobil.
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