After Iran refused to sit down with the United States, US President Donald Trump said that the onus of the failure in the talks lies with Iran and warned that his country might go beyond negotiations if its terms are not accepted. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met senior Pakistani officials in Islamabad on Saturday and then left for Oman before heading to Russia.
The top diplomat said that his solo trip to Pakistan was aimed at gauging the seriousness of the United States' commitment to diplomacy rather than war.
Araghchi refused to engage in talks with US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on Saturday. Hours later, Trump said that “the onus is on Iran’s leadership," yet hinted that if they want to talk, “all they have to do is call!!!” Trump wrote in an online post.
Earlier this week, he said he was in “no rush” to reach an agreement with Iranian leadership, whom he claimed, without evidence, were “fighting like cats and dogs” among themselves.
Trump had earlier suggested that Iranian leadership, military, security, judiciary, and government authorities were not on the same page.
The authorities also claim that more than 30 million people – a third of Iran’s total population – have registered in a state-run campaign to express readiness to “sacrifice” their lives if necessary, but they have not provided any documentation to prove the claim..
The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Saturday afternoon that they were going to retaliate against US aggression if it decided to resume hostilities.
“We are prepared and determined to monitor the behaviour and movement of the enemies in the region and maintain management and control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz and to inflict more severe damages on the American-Zionist enemies in case of another aggression,” read its statement.
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