By Saad Sayeed, Ariba Shahid and Steve Holland
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump cancelled a trip by two U.S. envoys to Iran war mediator Pakistan on Saturday, dealing a new setback to peace prospects after Iran’s foreign minister departed Islamabad after speaking only to Pakistani officials.
While peace talks failed to materialize Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his troops to “forcefully” attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, his office said, further testing a three-week ceasefire.
Trump told reporters in Florida that he decided to call off the planned visit by U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner because the talks in Islamabad involved too much travel and expense, and Iran’s latest peace offer was not good enough for him.
Before boarding Air Force One on Saturday for a return flight to Washington, Trump said Iran had improved an offer to resolve the conflict after he cancelled the visit, “but not enough.”
In a social media post, Trump also wrote there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership.
“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” he posted on Truth Social.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi earlier left the Pakistani capital without any sign of a breakthrough in talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials.
Although Araqchi described his visit to Pakistan as “very fruitful,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Sharif in a phone call that Tehran would not enter “imposed negotiations” under threats or blockade, according to a statement from the Iranian government.
Pezeshkian said the U.S. should first remove “operational obstacles”, including its blockade on Iranian ports, to be able to create a groundwork to resolve issues.
IRAN AND US AT AN IMPASSE
Washington and Tehran are at an impasse as Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, while the U.S. blocks Iran’s oil exports.
The conflict, in which a ceasefire is in force, began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran has since carried out strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states, and the war has pushed up energy prices to multi-year highs, stoking inflation and darkening global growth prospects.
Araqchi “explained our country’s principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against Iran”, said a statement on the minister’s official Telegram account.
Asked about Tehran’s reservations over U.S. positions in the talks, an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters: “Principally, Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said the U.S. had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days and hoped more would come over the weekend, while Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan as well.
Vance led a first round of unsuccessful talks with Iran in Islamabad earlier this month.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Daniel Trotta, William Mallard, Matthias Williams and Timothy Heritage; Editing by Paul Simao, Edwina Gibbs, Alexander Smith and Deepa Babington)
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