Iran calls Pakistan visit 'fruitful'

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his visit to Pakistan was “very fruitful” after talks in Islamabad on April 25 with Pakistan’s top civilian and military leaders. (en.irna.ir) (dawn.com) Araghchi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Chief of Defence Forces and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Pakistan said the meetings covered regional developments, bilateral ties and efforts for peace and stability. (dawn.com 1) (dawn.com 2) In his public message after the trip, Araghchi said he had shared Iran’s position on a “workable framework” to permanently end the war on Iran and added that Tehran had yet to see whether the United States was “truly serious about diplomacy.” (en.irna.ir) (dawn.com) The Pakistan stop was part of a fast-moving diplomatic circuit that also included Oman and Russia. Iranian state media said Araghchi planned the trip to strengthen coordination with partner countries while keeping neighboring states at the center of Tehran’s foreign policy. (en.irna.ir) (aljazeera.com) The immediate backdrop is a stalled effort to restart U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan. President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner after Araghchi left Islamabad, saying there had not been enough progress. (politico.com) (aljazeera.com) Pakistan has been trying to preserve a channel between Tehran and Washington after the two sides held direct talks in Islamabad on April 11, their first such meeting since 1979. Those contacts have since been complicated by Iran’s demand that the U.S. end its blockade before new talks move ahead. (france24.com) (politico.com) The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the dispute. Politico, citing a regional official involved in mediation, reported that Iran wants backing for a mechanism to collect tolls from ships using the waterway, while the United States is trying to reopen traffic through a route that carries about a fifth of the world’s oil in peacetime. (politico.com) (france24.com) There is no support in the reporting reviewed for the claim that Iran announced a special fee exemption for Russian ships in the strait during the Pakistan visit. The verified reporting shows a Pakistani mediation effort, a broader Iran tour that included Moscow, and unresolved bargaining over ceasefire and shipping terms. (en.irna.ir) (politico.com) By Monday, Araghchi had reached Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin, underscoring that Tehran is still shopping its war-ending proposal among partners even as the Pakistan channel remains open but fragile. (apnews.com) (dw.com)