Iran cites U.S. actions as obstacle to talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghch

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday made fresh accusations against the United States, but did not explicitly rule out a new round of negotiations.

“The provocations, threatening rhetoric and continued U.S. violations of the ceasefire, especially the attacks on Iranian merchant ships, are a significant obstacle to the continuation of the diplomatic process,” Araghchi said in a phone call with his Pakistani counterpart, according to a report by the Tasnim news agency.

“Iran will carefully weigh the circumstances and then decide on the way forward,” he said.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman had earlier told a press conference in Tehran that the country had not yet made a decision on further negotiations with the U.S.

No further round of talks is currently planned, the spokesman said.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar appealed to Araghchi to resume dialogue as soon as possible to promote peace and stability in the region, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said on X after the phone call.

Dar had made a similar appeal in a phone call on Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday, ahead of the ceasefire’s expiry on Wednesday, that he would again send a delegation to Islamabad for negotiations.

A US delegation is preparing to leave for Islamabad “soon,” dpa learned from a source familiar with the matter on Monday morning in Washington.

A first round of talks between senior representatives from Washington and Tehran took place in Islamabad just over a week ago.

However, the talks ended without tangible results.
dpa/NAN