US President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled his envoys’ planned trip to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran on Saturday, but said that did not mean an immediate resumption of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.
Shortly before the announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrapped up his own diplomatic visit to Islamabad after meeting with Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, a key figure in the mediation effort, as well as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
The White House had previously said Trump emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were headed to the Pakistani capital for an “in-person conversation” with the Iranians that would “hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal”.
But Trump told Fox News on Saturday that he had nixed the trip.
“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,” the president said he had told his team.
Asked by US media outlet Axios whether that meant a resumption of hostilities, Trump said: “No. It doesn’t mean that. We haven’t thought about it yet.”
Iran’s foreign ministry said Araghchi had left Islamabad and arrived in Muscat on Saturday for meetings with Omani officials. He is also expected to travel on to Russia to discuss efforts to end the war, which the United States and Israel began against Iran on February 28.
Araghchi described his Pakistan trip as “very fruitful” in a post on X, adding he had shared Iran’s position on a “workable framework to permanently end the war”.
“Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy,” he said.
Even before Trump’s announcement, the prospect of new talks had been uncertain, with Iranian state television saying Araghchi had no plans to meet with the Americans, and that Islamabad would serve as a bridge to “convey” Iranian proposals.
– Opening Hormuz ‘vital’ –
The urgency of striking a deal to permanently end the war has mounted as the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world’s oil and gas supplies, has remained closed.
But Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that they had no intention of ending their effective blockade of the waterway, which has thrown energy markets into turmoil.
“Controlling the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the shadow of its deterrent effects over America and the White House’s supporters in the region is the definitive strategy of Islamic Iran,” the Guards said on their official Telegram channel.
The US has imposed a blockade of its own on Iranian ports in retaliation.
In a defiant statement carried by state media, the Iranian military’s central command said that if “the invading US military continues blockading, banditry, and piracy in the region, they should be certain that they will face a response”.
Since the first and only round of US-Iran talks, also hosted by Pakistan, efforts to bring the two sides back to the table have hit an impasse, with Iran refusing to participate as long as the US naval blockade remains in place.
Iran, meanwhile, has allowed only a trickle of ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
European Council President Antonio Costa said the waterway “must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling”.
“This is vital for the entire world,” Costa said.
– ‘Historic peace’ –
On the war’s Lebanese front, Trump announced a three-week ceasefire extension on Thursday and spoke in glowing terms of peace prospects after meeting with Israeli and Lebanese envoys.
But Mohammed Raad, the head of the parliamentary bloc for Hezbollah, urged the Lebanese government to withdraw from direct talks with Israel and warned that a lasting peace deal of the kind sought by Trump “will in no way enjoy Lebanese national consensus”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to destroy the Iran-backed armed group, said “it’s clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage” the peace process.
Despite the ceasefire, Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on Saturday in the Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil districts in the south of the country had killed six people.
In the coastal city of Sidon, Ahmad Shumar and his family were preparing to head back to their hometown in the south this week, after giving up on a previous attempt due to fears of Israeli attacks.
“We are going home now, not knowing whether there will be war or peace — we will see,” the 74-year-old said, surrounded by bags and mattresses.
AFP
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