Efforts by regional countries, including Pakistan, to broker a cease-fire between the United States and Iran have stalled, with Tehran rejecting planned talks in Islamabad and dismissing U.S. demands as unacceptable, according to a report Friday.
Iran has officially told mediators that it is unwilling to meet U.S. officials in Islamabad in the coming days and considers U.S. demands unacceptable, the Wall Street Journal report said.
The war has threatened global supplies of oil, natural gas and fertilizer and disrupted air travel. Iran's grip on the strategic Strait of Hormuz has shaken markets and prices.
China and Pakistan laid out a five-point Mideast plan to end the Iran war earlier this week. The plan calls for an end to attacks on civilians and non-military targets, such as energy infrastructure and desalination plants.
Shipping lanes should be secured, allowing "the early and safe passage of civilian and commercial ships" through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, it added.
Both countries said a lasting peace should be based on the U.N. charter and international law.
