Trump says Iran can phone if it wants to talk, as Iranian envoy returns to Pakistan
Iran has long demanded Washington acknowledge its right to enrich uranium
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[ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Iran could telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to their two-month war, stressing that Teheran can never have a nuclear weapon, while Iran’s foreign minister returned to Pakistan for talks despite the absence of US counterparts.
Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded on Saturday when Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi continued to shuttle between mediating countries.
“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Trump told The Sunday Briefing on Fox News.
“They know what has to be in the agreement. It’s very simple: They cannot have a nuclear weapon, otherwise there’s no reason to meet,” Trump said.
Iran has long demanded Washington acknowledge its right to enrich uranium, which Teheran says it only seeks for peaceful purposes, but which Western powers say is aimed at building nuclear weapons.
Although a ceasefire has paused full-scale fighting in the conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28, no agreement has been reached on terms to end a war that has killed thousands, driven up oil prices, fuelled inflation and darkened the outlook for global growth.
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Trump faces domestic pressure to end war
With his approval ratings falling, Trump faces domestic pressure to end the unpopular war. Iran’s leaders, though weakened militarily, have found leverage in negotiations with their ability to stop shipping in the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of global oil shipments.
Teheran has largely closed the strait while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iran’s ports.
Araqchi returned to Islamabad after holding talks on Sunday in Oman, another mediator in the war.
Iranian state media said Araqchi discussed security in the strait with Omani leader Haitham bin Tariq al-Said and called for a regional security framework free of outside interference.
Pakistani government sources said Araqchi would hold talks with Pakistan’s leadership before heading to Moscow.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Araqchi’s talks with Pakistani officials would include “implementing a new legal regime over the Strait of Hormuz, receiving compensation, guaranteeing no renewed military aggression by warmongers, and lifting the naval blockade.”
The talks would not be related to Iran’s nuclear programme, the report said.
Speaking in Florida on Saturday, Trump said he cancelled his envoys’ visit due to too much travel and expense for what he considered an inadequate Iranian offer.
Iran “offered a lot, but not enough,” he said. The comments were made before a White House press dinner in Washington later that day, where Trump was rushed off the stage by security officers after a man opened fire in the hotel venue.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone that Teheran would not enter “imposed negotiations” under threats or blockade, according to a statement from the Iranian government.
He said the United States should first remove obstacles, including its maritime blockade, before negotiators could begin laying the groundwork for a settlement.
Extensive disagreements
The disagreements between the US and Iran extend beyond Teheran’s nuclear programme and control of the strait.
Trump wants to limit Iran’s support for its regional proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, and curb its ability to strike US allies with ballistic missiles. Iran wants a lifting of sanctions and an end to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah.
In talks in Islamabad earlier in April, US Vice-President JD Vance led the US delegation opposite Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. They ended without agreement.
After the latest diplomatic trip was called off, two US Air Force C-17s carrying security staff, equipment and vehicles used to protect US officials flew out of Pakistan, two Pakistani government sources told Reuters on Sunday.
Writing on Truth Social before the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump said there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership.
Pezeshkian said last week there were “no hardliners or moderates” in Teheran and that the country stood united behind its supreme leader.
The war has destabilised the Middle East. Iran has struck its Gulf neighbours and conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has been reignited.
Israel’s military issued new evacuation orders for southern Lebanon on Sunday, telling residents to leave seven towns beyond the “buffer zone” it occupied before a ceasefire that has failed to bring a full halt to hostilities. REUTERS
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