The US military completed its departure from its remaining bases in Iraq on Wednesday. The weapons held by Iran-aligned factions remain unresolved. That issue now sits alongside the stalled diplomatic track between Washington and Tehran.
The accounts of the Iranian delegation's departure from New York differ. Iran's mission to the United Nations said the return followed a timetable shared in advance. Asharq Al-Awsat reported an account from two US officials: Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the delegation to leave after indirect negotiations reached an impasse on Monday evening.
The Iranian delegation, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left New York for Doha; Anadolu reported that the flight departed at about 1:20 a.m. on Tuesday.
The mission says the departure was scheduled. The reported US order describes it as an immediate response to the talks' failure. The available information does not settle the discrepancy.
Washington and Tehran held indirect talks through Qatari mediators. Anadolu reported that the weekend talks made no substantial progress. The White House had reportedly hoped for a breakthrough on Monday. By evening, discussions had stalled. No breakthrough came.
Washington has also offered up to $15 million for information about three senior officials in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' missile unit. Available reporting does not establish a direct link between the reward and the New York negotiations.
Oil prices were steady in early Asian trading on Thursday. They had gained in the previous session and risen sharply during September. No price figures were provided, so the report offers no measure of how markets assessed the diplomatic developments.
Iran's UN mission said the advance schedule had been communicated to the US State Department on September 17. That account directly differs from reports that the delegation was told to leave immediately.
The indirect talks have stalled. The two sides give different accounts of the delegation's departure. The US military has also left its remaining bases in Iraq, but the militia-weapons question remains unresolved. Neither the diplomatic impasse nor the Iraq security issue has been settled by the reported actions.
