Trump says Iran can call if it wants to talk, as Iranian foreign minister heads to Russia
Trump said Iran "can come to us, or they can call us", after calling off planned negotiations in Islamabad over the weekend.
In this photo released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, meets with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, Apr 25, 2026. (PHOTO: AP/Iranian Foreign Ministry)
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said on Sunday (Apr 26) that Iran could call if it wanted to negotiate an end to the war launched by the US and Israel, as Iran's foreign minister returned to Pakistan for talks despite the absence of US counterparts.
Hopes of reviving peace efforts had earlier receded after Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi 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 said in an interview on Fox News' "The Sunday Briefing".
"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.
Asked whether cancelling signalled renewed fighting, Trump said: "No, it doesn't mean that."
Iran has long demanded Washington acknowledge its right to enrich uranium, which Tehran says it only seeks for peaceful purposes but which Western powers and Israel say is aimed at building nuclear weapons.
Although a ceasefire has paused full‑scale fighting in the conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28, no agreement has been reached on terms to end a war that has killed thousands, driven up oil prices, fuelled inflation and darkened the outlook for global growth.
Tehran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of global oil shipments, while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iran's ports.
After holding talks in Pakistan, Araghchi flew to Oman - another mediator in the war - where he met the country's leader, Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, on Sunday.
They discussed security in the strait and Araghchi called for a regional security framework free of outside interference, according to Iran's foreign ministry.
Araghchi posted on X that the talks in Oman had focused on ensuring safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz, "to benefit of all dear neighbors and the world".
"Our neighbors are our priority," he added.
IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET PUTIN
Araghchi later returned to Islamabad. He later left for Russia for talks with senior officials, his ministry said. Russia confirmed the visit and Russian state media reported that President Vladimir Putin plans to meet with Araghchi on Monday.
Moscow's TASS news agency confirmed the Russian leader's plans, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Iranian state television also quoted Iran's envoy to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, saying that Araghchi and Putin would meet in St Petersburg, Russia's second city.
Moscow and Tehran, who are both subject to fierce Western sanctions, have developed an increasingly close relationship in recent years.
Albert Palazzo, an adjunct professor from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, noted that Iran’s flurry of diplomatic engagements is aimed at showing it is not isolated on the global stage.
“Iran (is trying) to mobilise other channels to put pressure on the US to resume proper negotiations face to face, because nothing is really going to happen until the two parties sit down and start talking,” said the former director of war studies for the Australian Army.
Pressure to end the war has intensified as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had no intention of lifting their blockade, which has roiled energy markets.
"Controlling the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the shadow of its deterrent effects over America and the White House's supporters in the region is the definitive strategy of Islamic Iran," the Guards said on their official Telegram channel.
The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports in retaliation.
In a statement carried by state media, Iran's military warned that continued US "blockading, banditry and piracy" would draw a response.
Speaking in Florida before being rushed out of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington when a man opened fire nearby, Trump said he cancelled his envoys' visit due to too much travel and expense for what he considered an inadequate Iranian offer.
Iran "offered a lot, but not enough", Trump said.
An earlier round of talks in Islamabad - in which Vice President JD Vance led the US delegation opposite Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf - ended without agreement.
After the latest diplomatic trip was called off, two US Air Force C-17s carrying security staff, equipment and vehicles used to protect US officials flew out of Pakistan, two Pakistani government sources told Reuters on Sunday.
Analyst Palazzo noted that while Trump has signalled that a line of communication remains open, talks are unlikely to move forward without concessions.
“Once you break off negotiations, you then need to entice the other side to resume them,” he told CNA’s Asia First programme.
“That means at some point, the US has to give way on some of its objectives and offer the Iranians something that makes it worthwhile to continue to negotiate.”
TRUMP SAYS IRAN'S LEADERSHIP IN DISARRAY
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone that Tehran would not enter "imposed negotiations" under threats or blockade, according to a statement from the Iranian government.
He said the United States should first remove obstacles, including its maritime blockade, before negotiators could begin laying the groundwork for a settlement.
Writing on Truth Social before the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Trump said there was "tremendous infighting and confusion" within Iran's leadership.
Pezeshkian said last week there were "no hardliners or moderates" in Tehran and that the country stood united behind its supreme leader.
The war has destabilised the Middle East - Iran has struck its Gulf neighbours and conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon has been reignited.
Israel's military issued new evacuation orders for southern Lebanon on Sunday, ordering residents to leave seven towns beyond the "buffer zone" it occupied before a ceasefire that has failed to bring a full halt to hostilities.
