Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Islamabad on Sunday night, rejoining mediation efforts just hours after he left Pakistan and U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly scrapped a planned trip by American envoys to revive peace talks with Tehran.
Iranian state media confirmed Araghchi’s return on Sunday, reporting he had arrived back in the Pakistani capital “to continue consultations on ending the war with the United States” after a brief stop in Oman. The minister had left Islamabad late Saturday, triggering confusion over whether talks would proceed, before reversing course and returning ahead of a planned trip to Moscow.
His return came after Trump cited “infighting and confusion” among Iran’s leadership in scuppering a planned visit Saturday on by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to Pakistan for negotiations.
“I just canceled the trip of my representatives going to Islamabad,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday. “If they want to talk, all they have to do is call,” he said.
Araghchi’s talks on Saturday in Islamabad were with Pakistan’s foreign minister, army chief and prime minister, according to Iranian state media ISNA. They discussed bilateral ties, regional developments and efforts to end the war, according to the report. Pakistan’s army chief visited Tehran last week to exchange proposals and messages with the United States via Islamabad.
The back-and-forth comes days after Trump agreed to pause further strikes on Iran at Pakistan’s request, extending a fragile ceasefire after weeks of escalation, while also continuing the U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said on Tuesday that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir had urged Washington to “hold our Attack on the Country of Iran until such time as [Iranian] leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal.”