US President Donald Trump dismissed Iran’s claims that it will not participate in the latest round of peace negotiations in Pakistan, all the while opening the door for a personal meeting with Tehran’s senior leadership at a later stage.
In an interview with the New York Post, Trump said that he assumes that “nobody is playing games”.
“We’re supposed to have the talks. So I would assume at this point nobody’s playing games,” Trump said in the interview, brushing aside doubts about whether negotiations would fall apart.
Trump said that Vice President JD Vance, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have already left for Islamabad for the second round of talks with Iran.
“They’re heading over now,” “They’ll be there tonight, [Islamabad] time,” Trump said. A Reuters report, citing two sources, later contradicted Trump on this point, saying that Vance had not yet left for Pakistan.
The Republican leader signalled that he was open to meeting the Iranian leadership “if they want to meet”.
“I have no problem meeting them. If they want to meet, and we have some very capable people, but I have no problem meeting them,” he said.
What did Iran say about going for the second round of talks with the US?
Iran held back from saying whether it would take part in further peace talks even after Donald Trump said the delegation is on its way to Pakistan, creating uncertainty about whether a breakthrough can be achieved.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said via Telegram that he had a call with his Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, about issues related to the ceasefire with the US, without giving further details. Earlier, foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had no current plans to attend negotiations, but a decision hadn’t been made.
“There are various indications that there is no seriousness on the US side in advancing diplomacy,” Baghaei said.
Iran is reviewing a US proposal delivered during a visit by Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, he added, according to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency. The details of the offer were not disclosed.
Despite Iran’s reticence over the talks, President Masoud Pezeshkian said there’s no appetite for a return to fighting, saying “all rational and diplomatic avenues should be used to reduce tensions,” according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
“War is in no one’s interest,” he added. Thousands were killed in just over a month of fighting, the majority in Iran.
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