Donald Trump has stated that he instructed US envoys not to proceed to Pakistan for further discussions with Iran, shortly after Tehran's top diplomat departed Islamabad late on Saturday. Trump told Fox News, 'They can call us anytime they want.' The White House had announced on Friday that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan's capital to attempt to revive ceasefire negotiations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Leaves Pakistan
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, left Pakistan on Saturday evening, according to two Pakistani officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Araghchi had met with Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, outlining what he termed Iran's red lines for negotiations. He stated that Tehran would engage with Pakistan's mediation efforts 'until a result is achieved.' Iran had previously indicated that talks would be indirect.
Ceasefire and Economic Fallout
An open-ended ceasefire has paused most fighting, but the economic consequences continue to escalate. Global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizer, and other supplies have been disrupted due to the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have questioned how they can trust the US after previous talks over Tehran's nuclear program ended with attacks by the US and Israel.
Islamabad had been in near-lockdown ahead of the anticipated talks. Pakistan has been striving to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table since Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire earlier this week, honoring Islamabad's request for more diplomatic outreach.
Previous Negotiations
The first round of talks in Pakistan, led on the US side by JD Vance, lasted over 20 hours and were conducted face-to-face—the highest-level direct talks between the longtime adversaries since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Araghchi and Trump's envoys held hours of indirect talks in Geneva on 27 February but failed to reach a deal. The following day, Israel and the United States initiated the war.
The price of Brent crude oil remains nearly 50% higher than when the war began, due to Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil passes in peacetime. Iran attacked three ships this week, while the US maintains a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump has ordered the military to 'shoot and kill' small boats that could be placing mines.
International Response
Germany's defense minister, Boris Pistorius, announced on Saturday that his country is sending minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean to help remove Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end. The squeeze on shipments through the strait has rippled through global maritime trade, including through the Panama Canal, nearly halfway around the world.
On Saturday, Iran resumed commercial flights from Tehran's international airport for the first time since the war began with US and Israeli strikes two months ago. Flights were scheduled to depart for Istanbul, Muscat, and Medina, according to Iran's state-run television. Iran partly reopened its airspace earlier this month due to the ceasefire.
Casualties
Since the war began, authorities report at least 3,375 people killed in Iran and more than 2,490 in Lebanon, where new fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah broke out two days after the Iran war started. Additionally, 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 US service members in the region, and six members of the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon have also been killed.
Trump announced on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy.
