Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Islamabad on Sunday night, rejoining mediation efforts hours after he left Pakistan and US President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a trip planned by the US delegation to revive peace talks with Tehran.
Iranian state media confirmed Araghchi’s return on Sunday, reporting that he had returned to the Pakistani capital “to continue negotiations to end the war with the United States” after a brief stopover in Oman. The minister had left Islamabad late on Saturday, stir up confusion on whether the talks will continue, before turning the tide and returning ahead of the planned trip to Moscow.
His return came after Trump cited “fighting and chaos” among Iran’s leadership cancel a scheduled visit Saturday with US envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner heading to Pakistan for talks.
“I have canceled my representatives’ trip to Islamabad,” Trump wrote in a Community Truth post on Saturday. “If they want to talk, all they have to do is call,” he said.
Araghchi’s talks on Saturday in Islamabad included Pakistan’s foreign minister, army chief and prime minister, according to Iran’s state media ISNA. They discussed bilateral relations, regional development and efforts to end the war, according to reports. Pakistan’s army chief visited Tehran last week to exchange proposals and messages with the United States through Islamabad.
The repetition comes a few days after Trump accepted call off more strikes on Iran at Pakistan’s request, extending a fragile ceasefire after weeks of escalation, while also continuing the US blockade of Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said on Tuesday that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir had asked Washington to “hold our attacks on the country of Iran until such time as (Iran’s) leaders and representatives come up with a unified proposal.”
