Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Pakistan before US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could arrive, prompting Trump to cancel the trip and suggest future talks would happen by phone.

Araghchi leaves, Trump pulls envoys

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday for meetings with Pakistani officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as part of efforts to revive direct negotiations with Washington. He then left the country before a planned US delegation could land.

Trump cancelled the envoys' trip after Araghchi's departure, later posting that any future contact would be by telephone, writing: "If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!"

Iran had said there were no plans for a direct meeting with a US delegation led by Witkoff and Kushner. Trump said Iran had not made a satisfactory offer. Iranian state media reported Araghchi was expected to return to Islamabad on Sunday night, and that he had departed for Oman before travelling onward to Russia.

Tehran hardens its position

Some Iranian officials have argued Tehran must not even entertain further talks on the nuclear issue while under threats and the ongoing naval blockade. Iran has framed the diplomatic impasse as a direct consequence of what it describes as a US breach of commitments and continued siege of its ports.

The standoff in the Strait of Hormuz has grown increasingly volatile. The US Central Command said it has intercepted 33 vessels since imposing a blockade on ships travelling to and from Iran. Trump authorised the US Navy to target Iranian fast boats in the Strait, and said the US would "shoot and kill" any Iranian vessel laying mines there.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two vessels in the strait, saying the action was a response to US seizure of an Iranian commercial ship. The International Chamber of Shipping said both the US and Iran should immediately release the crews of captured vessels, calling the seizures violations of international law.

Oil prices climbed above $106 per barrel as the two sides remained deadlocked.

Pakistan's mediation role

Pakistan has positioned itself as a mediator between Washington and Tehran. The Araghchi–Sharif meeting in Islamabad was intended to advance that role. Residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi faced road closures and disruption as the city hosted the high-stakes diplomacy.

With roughly 3,000 shipping containers stranded in Pakistan due to the blockade, Iran has also been exploring additional land transit routes to move sea cargo that cannot pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Ceasefire holds, blockade does not lift

Trump extended the US-Iran ceasefire after it came close to expiring, but kept the naval blockade in place, telling Iran to present a unified proposal before hostilities resume. Flights resumed at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport following weeks of disruption caused by the war, a signal the ceasefire was holding even as diplomatic progress stalled.

The US Treasury also sanctioned China's Hengli refinery, saying it had generated hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran's military by purchasing Iranian oil in defiance of US restrictions.