Spain will reopen its embassy in Iran in a bid to help end the war in the Middle East

Spain plans to reopen its embassy in Tehran, which was temporarily closed on March 7 amid the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.

This was reported by Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Álvarez, El Pais reports.

According to the minister, Madrid wants to facilitate the transition from a two-week truce to a full resolution of the conflict. In this regard, he instructed Spanish Ambassador Antonio Sanchez-Benedito to return to Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has already been informed about the reopening of the embassy and Madridʼs decision to join "efforts for peace".

War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US

On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials.

Iran responded by launching attacks on Arab countries and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. It is through it that almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports — tens of millions of barrels a day — passed.

Donald Trump claimed that negotiations had been held with Iran, which were allegedly initiated by Tehran. During them, according to the US president, the parties reached an agreement on 15 points. One of them is Iranʼs refusal to give up nuclear weapons.

Against the background of the negotiations, the US suspended attacks on Iranian energy facilities until April 6, then Trump named another deadline — no later than 03:00 Kyiv time on Wednesday, April 8. The US president promised that if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz by that time, the US will destroy all the countryʼs power plants and bridges.

On March 30, Trump reported that Iran had agreed to most of the demands of his 15-point peace plan. To confirm its willingness to negotiate, Iran gave the United States a “gift” of 20 oil tankers that passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

On April 5, the Iranian military threatened the United States and Israel that “the gates of hell will open” if there were further attacks. President Trump had previously made a similar statement and called on Iran to accept a proposed peace deal.

On April 6, Iran, through Pakistan, submitted a 10-point peace plan proposal to the United States. The American president then rejected it, stating that it was an important but insufficient step.

Shortly before the deadline, on April 7, Trump declared that “an entire civilization will perish tonight and never be resurrected”. At around 01:30 on April 8 Kyiv time — an hour and a half before the deadline — Trump announced that the United States and Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire. During that time, the countries are to agree on a final peace agreement. Israel has also agreed to a ceasefire.

Trump called the 10-point peace plan, which Iran previously transmitted through Pakistan, a working basis for negotiations that should consolidate a full peace agreement in two weeks. Here are all the points of the plan. At the same time, The Guardian writes that the English version of the plan, which Iranian diplomats gave to journalists, does not include a point on Iranʼs right to enrich uranium.

Pakistan later stated that ceasefire violations were recorded in several locations in the Middle East on the afternoon of April 8.

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