Talks on with Tehran for Hormuz transit

Pakistan's interior minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday 'to facilitate' the peace talks between Iran and the United States that have stalled despite a fragile ceasefire, Iranian media reported.
'Mohsin Naqvi arrived today in the Islamic Republic of Iran on an official two-day visit as part of Pakistan's ongoing efforts to facilitate talks and promote regional peace,' the Tasnim news agency reported.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni received Naqvi, whose visit to Tehran comes days after that of Pakistan's influential army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that Tehran had received messages from Washington indicating that President Donald Trump's administration was willing to continue negotiations.
Iranian state television said on Saturday that European countries were in talks with Tehran over transit for ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
'Following the passage of ships from East Asian countries, notably China, Japan and Pakistan, we received information today indicating that Europeans have also begun negotiations with the Revolutionary Guards navy' to get permission to pass, state television reported, without specifying which countries.
US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though China gave no indication it would weigh in.
Flying back from Beijing on Friday after two days of talks with Xi, Trump said he was considering whether to lift US sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.

'I'm not asking for any favours because when you ask for favours, you have to do favours in return,' Trump said when asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether Xi had made a firm commitment ⁠to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the strait.
Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China's foreign ministry criticised the ⁠war, calling it a conflict 'which should never have happened, has no reason to continue'.
On Saturday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security commission, said Iran 'has prepared a professional mechanism to manage traffic' through the strait, adding that it will be 'unveiled soon'.
'In this process, only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran will benefit from it,' he noted, adding that 'the necessary fees will be collected for specialised services'.
'This route will remain closed to the operators of the so-called 'freedom project',' he said, referring to a temporary US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the strait.
Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire and hold expanded talks on a political settlement, the United States announced Friday, even as Israel carried out new strikes that it insists are not subject to the truce.
Israel has been pounding Lebanon and invaded its south in response to fire from Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shia movement that is not part of the ceasefire diplomacy.
Envoys from Israel and Lebanon's government, which has struggled to restrain Hezbollah, met for two days in Washington and said they would extend the ceasefire that was set to expire on Sunday.
The cessation of hostilities 'will be extended by 45 days to enable further progress,' State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
He said that the State Department would hold negotiations aimed at reaching a permanent political agreement on June 2 and 3 and that the Pentagon would bring together delegations from the countries' militaries on May 29.
Lebanon's delegation said in a statement that the ceasefire extension and opening of military talks would offer 'critical breathing room for our citizens' with a goal of 'lasting stability.' — Agencies