All eyes were on Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Saturday amid hopes of resumption of talks between America and Iran. But Iran’s top diplomat left the city after meeting senior Pakistani officials, and US President Donald Trump put a halt to his envoys’ scheduled visit.
These events marked another impasse in peace talks as a second attempt to bring Washington and Tehran to the negotiating table aimed at ending the war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Army Chief of Staff Asim Munir and other key officials on what he called red lines for talks.
He described his visit to Islamabad as “very fruitful”.
“Shared Iran’s position regarding a practical framework for permanently ending the war on Iran,” Araghchi wrote on
Trump canceled a visit to Pakistan by his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, saying there was no point in “sitting around talking about nothing”, but he also said the war would not restart immediately.
Trump said the ball is in Tehran’s court.
“If they want to talk, they just have to call!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth social platform.
Clouds of uncertainty are looming over the Iran war with the US and Iran sticking to their terms and not meeting face to face for talks, leading to a global energy crisis amid the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
A fragile ceasefire between Iran and the US, which was extended by Trump this week, is currently in place.
Trump told Axios that canceling the trip by Kushner and Witkoff would not mean a return to hostilities.
“No, that’s not what it means. We haven’t thought about it yet,” the US news outlet quoted the president as saying.
The first round of talks in Islamabad earlier this month was led by Vice President JD Vance from the US side. They ended after 21 hours with no progress toward a deal.
Trump has since said that the ceasefire will be extended indefinitely while continuing to make threats towards Iran.