Washington, April 26: President Donald Trump on Sunday said the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
In an interview on Fox News Channel, Trump said he made that decision rather than send a delegation on a 17-hour flight.
“We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us,” Trump said, not indicating when the call would take place.
Talks appeared to fall apart on Saturday, with Tehran’s top diplomat leaving Pakistan, and Trump soon afterward saying he had told envoys not to travel to Islamabad.
Asked about NATO, Trump said he was “very, very disappointed” in the military alliance, which he has suggested the US may consider leaving after member countries ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’ve been serving them for many years, spending trillions of dollars, and when we wanted to help they were not there, so we have to remember that,” Trump said.
Iran’s foreign minister returns to Pakistan
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in Pakistan on Sunday for the second time in three days amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks with the US, local media reported.
Araghchi, who left on Saturday after talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir and other top officials, came from Oman where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
The Iranian leader arrived at Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi after completing a day-long visit to Oman, the Dawn newspaper reported quoting sources.
He will meet with senior Pakistani officials during his brief stay in Islamabad and will then depart for Moscow, the paper reported.
Araghchi would convey “Iran’s positions and views on the framework of any understanding to completely end the war”, Geo TV reported quoting Iranian news agency ISNA. (Agencies)
