Ceasefire in doubt as US cancels trip and Iran’s top diplomat leaves Pakistan

Islamabad: Attempts at ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran fell flat after Tehran’s top diplomat left Pakistan and US President Donald Trump’s envoys stayed away, after he told them not to travel to Islamabad.

Trump indicated the ball was now in Iran’s court.

“If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” Trump said on social media.

The negotiations were meant to follow historic face-to-face talks earlier this month between the US, led by Vice President JD Vance, and Iran, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

But Iranian officials have questioned how they can trust the US after its forces started blockading Iranian ports, in response to Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump on Saturday (US time) told his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff to skip the trip, adding in a social media post that there has been “too much time wasted on travelling.”

“Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’ Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” Trump wrote.

Trump later told reporters he hasn’t “even thought about” what this means for the tentative ceasefire, as all sides try to figure out what’s next in the conflict.

Even as the outlook for more US-Iran talks remained unclear, a separate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon appeared to be breaking down, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering his country’s military to strike Hezbollah targets.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called his visit to Pakistan “very fruitful” but added in a social media post that Iran has “yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy.”

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a social media post that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior leaders met with Araghchi for about two hours. Araghchi left the city after those talks, according to two sources and Iranian state-run media IRNA.

Araghchi went on to Oman, on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz and a country that had mediated peace talks in the past. He said he would return to Pakistan the following day before heading to Russia, IRNA reported.

Trump told reporters on Saturday (US time) before boarding Air Force One – and prior to the security incident at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner – that Iran had “offered a lot but not enough” in a written document. He added that Iran responded quickly to his decision to cancel the trip by US envoys.

“Interestingly, immediately, when I cancelled it, within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better,” Trump said, without offering additional details. Iran didn’t immediately acknowledge that any fresh offer was made.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said earlier that the Iranians originally reached out to the US to arrange the fresh round of talks. But Araghchi had said the purpose of his travel was to consult with partners on bilateral matters and his office refrained from portraying the meetings as mediation by Pakistan.

The US has been trying to increase pressure on Iran with a continued naval blockade aimed at forcing Tehran into a deal that would end a war that has already killed more than 5000 people, mostly in Iran.

Trump ordered the US Navy to fire at any boat putting mines in the Strait of Hormuz, after the military intercepted two oil supertankers trying to evade the blockade.

In nearby Lebanon, there were fresh signs that a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah militants – which Trump announced on Thursday would be extended by three weeks – was breaking down. Netanyahu’s office issued a statement Saturday that the prime minister had ordered Israeli Defence Forces to “forcefully” attack militants targets in Lebanon, but offered no additional details.

The ceasefire, which originally went into effect on April 17, came after almost two months of fighting, was triggered by Hezbollah’s decision to join Tehran’s retaliation against the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran by targeting Israel’s northern communities.

Fighting escalated as Israel invaded southern Lebanon, killing over 2000 and displacing over 1 million, to create what it calls an “extended security zone.”

During the ceasefire, Israel and Lebanon kicked off direct talks in Washington — the first in over three decades — led by the countries’ ambassadors to the US. But no significant progress was reported after the first two rounds.

The ceasefire started to crack last Tuesday – on Israel’s Independence Day – when Hezbollah attacked Israeli soldiers, setting off sirens in Israel. In the days that followed attacks spilled further across the border targeting Israeli communities.

Bloomberg, AP

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