US President Donald Trump said yesterday Iran could telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to their two-month war, stressing that Tehran 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.
Araqchi returned to Islamabad after holding talks yesterday 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.
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