His foreign minister IranAbbas Aragchi, left the Pakistan before the arrival of the American delegation, as the country’s media reported on Saturday.
The developments follow an earlier statement by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, who confirmed that the two delegations will not hold direct talks in Islamabad.
His foreign minister IranAbbas Aragchi and the Iranian delegation departed from the Pakistan after talks, state media reported.
Earlier it became known from Pakistani government sources that during his visit to Pakistan, Abbas Araghchi conveyed to Pakistani officials the negotiating positions of Tehran and expressed the Iranian reservations on the American demands.
The head of Iranian diplomacy warned that Tehran will not accept “maximalist requirements» from the United States.
His spokesman Ismail Baghai said through X that no meeting is planned between Iran and the US and that Iranian positions will be conveyed to the US side through Pakistani mediators.
At the same time, however, Pakistani sources speaking to CBS News attempted to create the impression that the talks have not collapsed by saying that Abbas Araghchi will return to Islamabad on Sunday or Monday for the second round of talks with the US.
Trump: We hold all the cards
The White House announced earlier today that the two US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan today. However, after Aragchi’s departure, Donald Trump, speaking on Fox News, announced that he had canceled their trip.
“I told my folks a little while ago, while they were getting ready to leave, ‘No, you’re not going to take an 18-hour flight to go there. We’re holding all the paperwork. They can call us whenever they want, but you’re not going to take another 18-hour flight to sit and talk about nothing,'” said the American president.
“If they want to talk, call them”
A few hours later in his post on Truth Social, the US president referring to his decision to cancel the trip of Witkoff and Kushner to Islamabad also noted that within the leadership of Iran there is a huge internal dispute and confusion regarding the negotiations.
“Nobody knows who’s in charge, not even themselves. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” wrote the American president, among others
Abbas Aragchi: We have to see if the US is really serious
In a post on X, Abbas Araghchi noted that he had a “very fruitful visit to Pakistan” the previous day, noting the country’s “fraternal efforts to restore peace in our region, which we greatly appreciate.” He also expressed doubts about Washington’s sincerity in trying to resolve the conflict through negotiations: “We have to see if the US is really serious about diplomacy.”
