Islamabad — Ceasefire attempts between the United States and Iran It collapsed after Iran’s top diplomat left Pakistan and President Donald Trump’s envoys stayed away after he asked them not to travel to Islamabad.
The US President indicated that the ball is 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 supposed to follow historic face-to-face talks earlier this month between the United States, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, and Iran, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.
But Iranian officials wondered how to trust the United States after the start of its forces Closing Iranian ports In response to Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, on Saturday evening, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Araghchi went to Amman, on the other side of Strait of Hormuz A country that has mediated peace talks in the past. He said he would return to Pakistan again on Sunday before heading to Russia, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.
“We shared Iran’s position regarding a practical framework to permanently end the war on Iran. We have yet to see whether the United States is truly serious about diplomacy,” Araqchi said on social media about his talks in Pakistan on what he called Iran’s red lines for negotiations.
Meanwhile, another ceasefire took place between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group – It was shaken on Saturday when each side opened fire on the other and on the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu He ordered the army to “vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.”
Last week, Trump announced an indefinite term Extending the ceasefire With Iran. I paused most of the fighting, however The economic repercussions are increasingAfter two months of war, global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizers and… Other supplies were disrupted Due to the imminent closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Both sides continued to issue military threats. Iran’s Joint Military Command warned on Saturday that “if the United States continues its aggressive military actions, including naval blockade, banditry and piracy,” it will face a “strong response.”
Even before Saturday’s developments, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that any talks would be indirect and that Pakistani officials would act as mediators.
Later, Trump told reporters that within 10 minutes of canceling the trip to Pakistan of his envoys — Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner — that Iran had sent a “much better” proposal. He did not go into details, but stressed that one of his conditions was that Iran “will not possess a nuclear weapon.”
It includes contentious points in the talks as well Enriched uranium in Iran and the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as concerns about Iran’s missile program and its support for armed proxies in the region.
Tehran noted that indirect talks with the United States last year and early this year regarding its nuclear program, an issue that has long been at the heart of tensions, ended with Iran being attacked by the United States and Israel, which increased its concern.
price brent crude, As for the international standard, it is about 50% higher than it was when the war began due to Iran’s control over the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes in peacetime.
Iran attacked three ships last week, while the United States imposes a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump ordered the army to do so “Shooting and killing” on small boats It could be Lay mine.
On Saturday, Iran also resumed commercial flights from Tehran International Airport for the first time since the war began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28. The flights were scheduled to depart to Istanbul, the Omani capital Muscat and Saudi Arabia’s Medina, according to state television.
Since the start of the war, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,496 people in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and Hezbollah resumed two days after the start of the Iran war. 23 people were also killed in Israel and more than a dozen in the Arab Gulf states. 15 Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon, 13 American soldiers in the region, and six United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah for three weeks. Hezbollah did not participate in the diplomacy brokered by Washington.
But Israel struck southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least six people it said were Hezbollah fighters, and several missiles and drones were launched at Israel from Lebanon.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers Melanie Liedman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Basem Marwa in Beirut; Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.