'US-Iran issues still quite far away from each other'

Jasmine El-Gamal, Former Pentagon Middle East advisor and CEO of Averos Strategies, on Thursday said that the US-Iran ceasefire deal is a great respite for the people in the West Asia region.

Gamal, in a conversation with ANI, said that the core demands of Iran and the US remain.

"I mean, this is a really important step, and it's a really welcome step. This war, over a month, has had a huge impact on people living in the Middle East, in Iran, in Lebanon, and in the Gulf. I mean, you've seen casualties and displacement and people killed and wounded. So obviously, this is a huge respite for people living in the region. I wanted to mention that first and foremost," she said.

She further said that the core demands of the US and Iran remain.

"From a strategic perspective, I'd like to just temper the news a little bit by stating that this is a temporary ceasefire and the core issues between the US, Israel, and Iran have not yet been addressed. And in fact, the two sides, when you look at their core demands, still are quite far away from each other," she said.

Gamal said that the real action begins now, as the peace talks will start.

"So the first step is the ceasefire, just to stop the violence and to turn down the temperature, to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which will be a huge relief to global markets, of course, and ordinary households all over the world who've been affected by this. But the real work starts now. The two parties are set to meet in Pakistan on Friday, and we will see how the discussions will go from there," she said.

Gamal was asked if Iran's 10 points were workable, and she said that the demands were "maximalist". -- ANI