The United States and Iran ceasefire talks attempt is stalled after the Washington delegation was a no-show in Islamabad for the talks, while now Tehran's top diplomat has left Pakistan. The instruction came from the US President Donald Trump after he asked the envoys not to travel to Islamabad. The US President indicated the ball was now in Iran's court.
“If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” Trump said on social media.
The negotiations were meant to follow historic face-to-face talks earlier this month between the US, led by Vice President JD Vance, and Iran, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. But Iranian officials have questioned how they can trust the US after its forces started blockading Iranian ports in response to Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
It is learnt from the sources that Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials. Araghchi went on to Oman, on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz, and a country that had mediated peace talks in the past. He said he would return to Pakistan again on Sunday before heading to Russia, as per Iran’s local media reports.
“Shared Iran's position concerning a workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy,” Araghchi said on social media about his talks in Pakistan about what he called Iran's red lines for negotiations.
Trump later told journalists that within 10 minutes of his cancelling the trip to Pakistan of his envoys — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — that Iran had sent a “much better" proposal. He did not elaborate but stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon.”
Last week, Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran. It has paused most fighting, but the economic fallout is growing, two months into the war, as global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertiliser, and other supplies are disrupted by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Both sides have continued to make military threats. Iran's joint military command on Saturday warned that “if the US continues its aggressive military actions, including naval blockades, banditry, and piracy”, it will face a “strong response."
Even before Saturday's developments, Iran's foreign ministry said any talks would be indirect and that Pakistani officials would act as go-betweens.
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