High-level meeting comes as Pakistan tries to keep US-Iran peace talks on track
\n islamabad
\nIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad after returning to the country from Oman.
\nThe meeting comes as Pakistan tries to keep the US-Iran peace talks on track despite President Donald Trump calling off his envoys\u2019 planned trip.
\nFM Araghchi landed in Islamabad following his visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
\nDuring his second trip to Pakistan in two days, the Iranian foreign minister is expected to hold talks with the country\u2019s top leadership.
\nAccording to the Iranian news agency ISNA, Araghchi would convey \u201cIran\u2019s positions and views on the framework of any understanding to completely end the war\u201d.
\nAraghchi had been in Islamabad only the day before, after which he travelled to Oman, while other Iranian envoys had headed back to Tehran \u201cto consult and obtain the necessary instructions on issues related to ending the war\u201d, according to ISNA.
\nBefore Saturday\u2019s Iran-Pakistan meetings in Islamabad, the White House had announced that Trump\u2019s peace envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner were planning to leave for Pakistan to engage in further negotiations.
\nBut Trump later told Fox News he had scrapped the trip, saying there was no point \u201csitting around talking about nothing\u201d. He dismissed Tehran\u2019s negotiating position, but added that it had revised its proposal within minutes of his decision.
\n\u201cThey gave us a paper that should have been better and \u2014 interestingly \u2014 immediately when I cancelled it, within 10 minutes, we got a new paper that was much better,\u201d he told reporters, without elaborating.
\n\u2018Very fruitful\u2019
\nAsked separately whether halting the trip meant a return to open hostilities, Trump said: \u201cNo, it doesn\u2019t mean that. We haven\u2019t thought about it yet.\u201d
\nLater, after a gunman was arrested at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner in Washington, Trump said he did not think the incident was related to Iran but that it would not deter him \u201cfrom winning the war\u201d.
\nOn Saturday, Araghchi met Field Marshal Munir, a key mediator, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, before flying to Muscat.
\nHe is expected to go to Moscow after the talks in Islamabad.
\nAraghchi described his initial Pakistan trip as \u201cvery fruitful\u201d but signalled scepticism over Washington\u2019s intentions. \u201cHave yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
High-level meeting comes as Pakistan tries to keep US-Iran peace talks on track islamabad Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad after returning to the country from Oman. The meeting comes as Pakistan tries to keep the US-Iran peace talks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543397,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-543384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n