Araghchi departed Islamabad earlier without any visible breakthrough in discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and senior officials. He arrived in Muscat later on Saturday for the second leg of his regional tour.
During his stop in Pakistan, Araghchi held separate meetings with Army Chief Asim Munir and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, focusing on bilateral ties and evolving regional dynamics. He also conveyed Tehran’s position on the conflict, which Iran blames on actions by the US and Israel. Araghchi called his Pakistan visit fruitful and added that he had outlined Iran’s position on permanently ending the war and placed the ball in Washington’s court, questioning whether the US was truly serious about diplomacy.
TRUMP CALLS OFF US ENVOYS’ VISIT
In a parallel development, US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned US delegation visit to Pakistan, citing frustration with Iran’s hardline stance. He suggested negotiations could continue remotely and asserted that Washington “held all the cards.”
“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing’,” he said.
Meanwhile, Araghchi is expected to meet senior Omani officials in Muscat, with talks likely to cover both bilateral relations and broader regional developments.
Efforts to revive negotiations have stalled amid heightened tensions, particularly after the US Navy moved to blockade the Strait of Hormuz following Iran’s closure of the route. The waterway is critical, accounting for a significant share of global energy transit.
IRAN PRESIDENT INVOKES ‘TABAS DEFEAT’, WARNS GLOBAL POWERS
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday invoked the anniversary of what he described as America’s “historic defeat” in Tabas, using the occasion to issue a broader warning to global powers.
In a post on X, Pezeshkian said May 5 marks the anniversary of the failed US operation in Tabas, framing it as a moment where “divine supremacy” prevailed. He added that a similar outcome had been witnessed this year in southern Isfahan, suggesting that Iran continues to be protected against external threats.
“The God of Tabas’s sands is the protector of this land’s people,” he wrote, expressing hope that such “historic defeats” would serve as a lesson for what he called arrogant powers.
Iran has so far resisted direct engagement with the United States, instead using Pakistan as an intermediary to communicate its proposals. Iranian sources maintain that Tehran will not accept what it describes as “maximalist demands” from Washington, despite an extension of the ceasefire.
– Ends
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