Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi clarified on Saturday that Tehran has “never refused to go to Islamabad” for negotiations, countering reports that regional efforts to broker a ceasefire between the United States and Iran had collapsed. The statement, issued via social media, marks a strategic effort by Iran to maintain a diplomatic door as Operation Epic Fury enters its second month. Araghchi emphasized that while Iran is “deeply grateful” for Pakistan’s mediation push, the primary obstacle remains the “unacceptable” nature of Washington’s demands, which Tehran views as temporary rather than a lasting end to the conflict.
The clarification comes in direct response to reports from major Western outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, which cited mediators claiming that Iran had officially declined to meet U.S. officials in Islamabad. These reports suggested that the five-point peace plan—jointly proposed by Pakistan and China and backed by a four-nation ministerial group including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt—had hit a “firm wall.” Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Tahir Andrabi, also stepped in to dismiss these reports as “baseless” and a “figment of imagination,” asserting that the diplomatic process remains active despite its immense complexity.
The diplomatic impasse is unfolding against a backdrop of intensifying military action and high-stakes rhetoric. While U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled that negotiations are progressing “extremely well” in some channels, he has simultaneously issued grave warnings on Truth Social, threatening to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants. This “war of words” was punctuated on Friday by the reported downing of a U.S. A-10 “Warthog” attack plane over the Strait of Hormuz, an event Trump dismissed as a routine consequence of active combat that would not derail his willingness to talk.
Currently, the regional mediation effort is focused on a “five-point initiative” that calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the restoration of maritime traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s insistence on a “conclusive and lasting” settlement rather than a temporary 48-hour ceasefire—which it reportedly rejected on Friday—underscores the deep mistrust between the warring parties. As Pakistan continues to position itself as a neutral host, the focus remains on whether a middle ground can be found before the April 19 expiration of the current U.S. sanctions waiver on Iranian oil.
