ISLAMABAD (AP) — The latest ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran appeared to fail Saturday before they even began, as Iran’s top diplomat left Pakistan and President Donald Trump said shortly afterward that he had asked envoys not to travel to Islamabad.
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 have questioned how they can trust the United States after its forces began blockading Iranian ports in response to Iran’s wartime grip on the Strait of Hormuz.
Announcing his decision Saturday, Trump said on social media: “If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” The White House said on Friday that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would go to Islamabad.
“I wasted a lot of time traveling, and a lot of work!” Trump added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left Pakistan 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.
Araqchi later said on social media: “We have shared Iran’s position regarding a practical framework to permanently end the war on Iran. It is yet to be seen whether the United States is truly serious about diplomacy.”
Another ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah was shaken on Saturday when each side opened fire on the other and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the army to “vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.”
Iran said any talks would be indirect
Araqchi met with Army Commander Field Marshal Asem Munir and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif about what he called Iran’s red lines for negotiations. He added that Tehran will participate in Pakistani mediation efforts “until a result is reached.”
An open-ended ceasefire has temporarily halted most of the fighting, but the economic fallout is growing as global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizer and other supplies are disrupted by the near 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.”
Pakistan has been trying to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table since Trump announced this week an indefinite extension of the ceasefire, out of respect for Islamabad’s request for more diplomatic engagement.
Even before Saturday’s developments, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that any talks would be indirect and that Pakistani officials would convey messages. Tehran indicated that indirect talks with the United States last year and early this year regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, an issue that had long been at the heart of tensions, ended with it being attacked by the United States and Israel, which increased its concern.
The first round of talks in Pakistan lasted more than 20 hours, the highest direct talks between the two long-time rivals since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Controversial points include Iran’s enriched uranium, the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, as well as concerns about Iran’s missile program and its support for armed proxies in the region.
The confrontation continues around the strait
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, is still about 50% higher than it was when the war began due to Iran’s grip on the strait, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes in peacetime.
Iran attacked three ships this week, while the United States imposes a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small boats that could lay mines.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday that his country will send minesweeping ships to the Mediterranean Sea to help remove Iranian mines from the strait once hostilities end.
Also on Saturday, Iran resumed commercial flights from Tehran International Airport for the first time since the war began with American and Israeli strikes two months ago. The flights were scheduled to depart for Istanbul, the Omani capital Muscat and Saudi Arabia’s Medina, according to Iranian state-run television.
This is an increasing toll even as the ceasefire continues
Since the war began, authorities say at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,496 people in Lebanon, where new fighting broke out between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group two days after the Iran war began.
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 helped Hezbollah fighters, and several missiles and drones were launched at Israel from Lebanon.
In addition, 23 people were killed in Israel and more than a dozen in the Gulf Arab states. 15 Israeli soldiers were killed in Lebanon, 13 American soldiers in the region, and six members of the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon.
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Ahmed reported from Islamabad and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Melanie Liedman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Basem Marwa in Beirut; Will Weisert in Washington contributed.