TEHRAN, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that peace negotiations between Iran and the United States are not close to an agreement.
"The ongoing (diplomatic) process and the senior Pakistani officials' presence in Tehran do not mean that we have reached a turning point or determining situation," Baghaei told state-run IRIB TV, as Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi are in Iran's capital for bilateral message exchanges.
"We cannot say to have reached a point where an agreement is close; not necessarily, that is not the case," he said, noting that differences between Iran and the United States are such "deep and numerous," and that diplomacy takes time.
Baghaei emphasized that talks aim to end hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, adding that Iran's nuclear program is not on the agenda at this stage.
The situation of the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. attacks on Iran-linked ships must also be reviewed and discussed, he said.
On Friday, Al Arabiya, citing informed sources, reported that a potential peace agreement between Iran and the United States would include nine clauses.
The draft includes an immediate, comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire on all fronts, guarantees against targeting military, civilian or economic infrastructure, cessation of military operations, and an end to the media war, Al Arabiya reported.
The draft also stipulates respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, freedom of navigation in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman, and the establishment of a joint monitoring and conflict resolution mechanism, it said.
Iran, the United States and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting that started with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.
Following the truce, Iranian and U.S. delegations held one round of peace talks in Pakistan's Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.
Over the past weeks, the two sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistani mediation. ■
