Smoke rises in Lebanon after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border. Image credit/Reuters
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will not negotiate while the United States maintains a blockade on its ports, Iranian media reported. Speaking by phone to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday night, Pezeshkian said the US “should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade,” to allow a new round of talks, ISNA and Tasnim reported. Sharif described the call as a “warm and constructive discussion.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day visit to Islamabad after meetings with Pakistani military and government officials, but the trip produced no breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations. US President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Pakistan, saying on Fox News he told envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel and that Iran “can call us any time they want.”
US Central Command said it intercepted a merchant vessel, the Sevan, in the Arabian Sea on Saturday. The military identified the ship as part of a 19-vessel “shadow fleet” transporting Iranian oil and gas products to foreign markets.
Diplomatic hopes dimmed as talks stalled, with both Tehran and Washington showing little willingness to soften terms. Trump said Iran’s peace offer had “improved but remained inadequate,” and that the planned envoys’ trip involved too much travel and expense for an insufficient proposal. Reuters contributed reporting.
