Pakistan: Iran Foreign Minister Araghchi Returns To Islamabad Amid Uncertainty In Dialogue With US

Islamabad: Pakistan has currently emerged as a central 'hub' amidst the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Iran and the United States regarding efforts to avert a war. The situation has taken on a somewhat cinematic quality. Specifically, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi traveled from Pakistan to Oman on Saturday; however, less than 24 hours later—on Sunday—he returned to Islamabad. He arrived back in Pakistan on Sunday after meeting with the Sultan in Oman. According to his schedule, Abbas Araqchi is set to depart for Russia following meetings with officials in Islamabad.

Did Some Members of Araqchi's Delegation Return to Iran?

In fact, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi first traveled to Pakistan. There, he held extensive discussions with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir. From there, he departed for Muscat, the capital of Oman. Oman has historically served as a mediator between Iran and Western nations. While there, Araqchi met with the Sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq. During this visit, a segment of Araqchi's delegation—rather than accompanying him further—returned to Iran. Their objective was to brief Iran's top leadership on the progress of the negotiations thus far and to return with fresh directives for the path ahead. Araqchi has now returned to Islamabad from Muscat, where he is currently engaged in detailed discussions with Pakistan's Army Chief, Asim Munir. The plan is for him to fly to Russia from there.

What is Donald Trump's Stance on Iran's Proposal?

Meanwhile, it had initially been planned that U.S. President Trump's peace envoy, Steve Witkoff, along with his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, would travel to Pakistan to negotiate with Iranian representatives. However, at the very last moment, Trump cancelled the visit. Speaking to Fox News, Trump stated that there was no point in sitting there and merely engaging in idle chatter without achieving any concrete results. He made it unequivocally clear that the proposal put forth by Iran was unacceptable to the United States. Trump claimed that within just 10 minutes of his canceling the visit, a new and much better proposal arrived from Iran.