Iran submitted its response to a U.S. proposal for peace talks aimed at ending the war, state news agency IRNA reported Sunday, as a Qatari gas tanker was permitted to pass through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz amid signs of tentative de-escalation.
The IRNA report said the response, sent to mediator Pakistan, would focus at this stage on ending the war, but no details were immediately available.
After some 48 hours of relative calm following sporadic clashes last week, hostile drones were detected over several Gulf countries Sunday, underlining the threat still facing the region despite a month-old cease-fire.
But the QatarEnergy-operated carrier al Kharaitiyat passed safely through the strait and was heading for Pakistan's Port Qasim, according to data from shipping analytics firm Kpler, the first Qatari vessel carrying liquefied natural gas to cross the strait since the U.S. and Israel started the war on Feb. 28.
Sources said earlier that the transfer, which offered a modicum of relief to Pakistan after a wave of power blackouts caused by a halt to vital gas imports, had been approved by Iran to build confidence with Qatar and Pakistan, both mediators in the war.
