Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, arrived in Russia on Monday after a whirlwind weekend of regional diplomacy aimed at shoring up political support and leverage while direct talks with Washington remain stalled.
Araghchi visited Islamabad last week and left on Saturday, a move that prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to cancel a planned trip by the U.S. negotiating team to Pakistan’s capital. From Pakistan Araghchi traveled to Oman, which sits across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, where he met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq and Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi.
Araghchi wrote on social media that discussions focused on bilateral matters and regional developments and on ensuring safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz to benefit neighboring states and global trade. Oman’s foreign minister said the talks included the urgent humanitarian issue of sailors who have been detained and emphasized the need for intensive diplomacy and practical measures to guarantee freedom of navigation.
Araghchi also spoke by phone with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. He returned briefly to Pakistan on Sunday and then flew to St. Petersburg, where Iranian state media said he will meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss war-related developments and coordinate positions with a key ally.
While in Pakistan, Iranian outlets reported Araghchi provided mediators with a list of ‘red lines’ covering nuclear matters and the Strait of Hormuz. Trump, who has said the elimination of Iran’s atomic program is the U.S. objective, reiterated over the weekend, ‘We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us.’
Iran’s parliamentary speaker and lead negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, pushed back on social media, challenging the U.S. boast and outlining economic arguments meant to highlight U.S. vulnerabilities.
The diplomacy comes amid mounting pressure from a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports. Trump told Fox News Iran had ‘just three days’ of storage left before pipeline pressures cause damage; energy analysts say the timeline is longer. Amena Bakr of research firm Kpler told NPR that at current production levels Iran is closer to about 20 days of onshore storage and that Tehran could try to reroute exports to a southern terminal outside the Strait of Hormuz if ships can reach it and evade the blockade.
Reporters Aya Batrawy and Kate Bartlett contributed to this report.