United States President Donald Trump on Saturday cancelled the US delegation’s visit to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran.
Trump said that too much time was being wasted on traveling and claimed that “there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their [Iranian] ‘leadership’.”
“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” he said on social media. “Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!”
Trump told reporters that there was no point “sitting around talking about nothing”, but added that the war would not immediately resume, according to AFP.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who are special envoys of the US president, were expected to go to Islamabad for talks with Iranian officials.
The announcement by Trump on Saturday came hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded his visit to Islamabad, where he met Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
On April 8, Washington and Tehran agreed to a two-week ceasefire to allow further negotiations to end the conflict in West Asia that started on February 28. An initial round of peace talks between Iran and the US in Islamabad collapsed on April 12.
However, Trump had said on Tuesday extended the ceasefire until Tehran comes up with a proposal to permanently end the war.
The US and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran’s action posed an existential threat to Israel. Washington acts as a guarantor of Israel’s security. Iran retaliated by striking Israel and US military bases in the region and targeting major cities in Gulf countries.
Tehran also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterbody connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, for most international commercial vessels, triggering a global energy crisis. About 20% of global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.
Israel has been claiming that Iran is close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, which could alter the regional security balance. Tehran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.
Also read: In the US-Israel war on Iran, women have paid a disproportionate price
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