Call Us! Trump Tells Iran, as Araghchi Makes Surprise U-Turn to Islamabad

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday drew a firm and uncompromising line on future engagement with Iran, declaring that American officials would no longer make the gruelling journey abroad for truce talks. "If they wanna talk, they can come to us or they can call us. We are not sending people to travel 18 hours to meet," Trump told Fox News, a pointed signal that Washington's patience for costly diplomatic courtship has run dry. The President added that Pakistan would remain a key player in the process, but on entirely different terms: "They'll stay involved, but we're gonna do it by telephone" , making clear that the next move belongs squarely to Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi undertook a multi-leg regional tour, beginning in Islamabad, where he conveyed written messages to the United States via Pakistan. According to Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency, those messages outlined Tehran's non-negotiable red lines , including its nuclear programme and control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Tasnim News Agency, however, insisted that Araghchi's Islamabad visit was not linked to nuclear talks, describing it instead as a mission to convey Iran's conditions for ending the war.

In Pakistan, Araghchi held meetings with Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, briefing them on what he described as Iran's firm red lines for any negotiations. He then departed for Oman, where he met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, with the Strait of Hormuz firmly at the centre of discussions. Araghchi's agenda in Oman included the legal status of the Strait, war compensation, guarantees against further military action, and the lifting of the U.S. naval blockade.

Following his Oman visit, Araghchi returned to Islamabad, before heading next to Moscow, where he is scheduled to meet high-ranking Russian officials to discuss bilateral relations as well as regional and international developments.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed with Trump the possibility of assembling a political, diplomatic, and military coalition to reopen the strait, with European allies joining the effort. An Iranian MP warned starkly that the Strait of Hormuz "will not return to its pre-war state" , signalling Tehran's intent to use its strategic chokehold as lasting leverage.

Egypt has also stepped into the diplomatic arena, engaging in calls with Qatar and Iran in a bid to revive U.S.-Iran talks, as Arab capitals grow increasingly anxious about the economic fallout of the conflict.

The core impasse remains unresolved. U.S. officials had been seeking two things from Tehran: a negotiating proposal addressing Trump's red lines on the nuclear programme, and clarity on who is actually in charge in Iran. Trump also claimed Iran had agreed to transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the U.S., a claim Iran denied within hours.