Washington DC [US], April 26 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Sunday said the American delegation would not be travelling to hold truce talks and that Tehran can dial over to Washington if they want to talk.
The US President laid down a hard line on Iran talks and said that future discussions will happen by phone.
“If they wanna talk, they can come to us or they can call us. We are not sending people to travel 18 hours to meet,” Trump told Fox News.
Trump added that Pakistan would stay involved as future progress is made via telephonic conversations. “They’ll stay involved- but we’re gonna do it by telephone.”
On Iran, he reaffirmed the longstanding view of the country not getting a nuclear weapon.
Trump told Fox News, “They cannot have a nuclear weapon. Otherwise there’s no reason to meet.”
As the situation remains fluid, Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi on Sunday visited Oman and Pakistan.
According to CNN, citing Iranian sources, Araghchi travelled from Oman to Pakistan’s Nur Khan Airbase on the outskirts of Islamabad. The visit is described as a short transit stop before his departure to Russia.
According to Geo News, citing sources, Araghchi’s return to Pakistan is part of diplomatic efforts to continue to sustain the US-Iran peace talks, despite US President Donald Trump cancelling the planned visit of his representatives to Islamabad.
Araghchi earlier departed from Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad late on Saturday before sharing a framework aimed at “permanently ending” the ongoing conflict with the United States in West Asia, outlining its position during discussions with the Pakistani leadership.
In a post on X, following his departure from Islamabad after a day of high-level meetings with the Pakistani leadership, Araghchi said that Iran had shared its position on a workable framework to permanently end the war and added that it remains to be seen whether the US is genuinely committed to diplomacy.
Meanwhile, earlier on Sunday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Iran will not enter into negotiations under pressure, threats, and siege, Mehr News Agency reported.
During his telephonic conversation with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Pezeshkian, criticised continued violations and coercive behaviour by the US during both the negotiations and the ceasefire period, the Mehr News Agency report revealed.
The Iranian President stated that actions related to Washington’s so-called maritime restrictions on Iran constitute a clear breach of the ceasefire understandings and are inconsistent with the United Nations Charter. Such measures, he said, together with threatening rhetoric, have heightened doubts regarding the US commitment to the diplomatic process.
Pezeshkian reaffirmed Iran’s determination to defend its national security and warned of all possible consequences of any renewed confrontation by the US and Israel for both regional and global stability.
He further emphasised that Iran remains committed to building and strengthening relations with all neighbouring countries, including those along the southern shores of the Persian Gulf, based on good neighbourliness and mutual respect.
He expressed hope that these states will also work collectively to promote regional peace and security, independent of external interference. (ANI)
