Araghchi Blames US ‘Excessive Demands’ For Stalled Iran-US Talks

ISLAMABAD: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday said US-Iran talks did not make any progress because of the wrong approach to talks adopted by US Administration and because of US excessive demands.

“However, there have been developments in the negotiations, and the wrong approaches and excessive demands of the United States have prevented the previous round of negotiations from achieving their goals despite the progress” he said in a message on social media platform upon his arrival in Moscow after shuttling between Islamabad and Muscat for two days.

He said that all this made consultations with friends in Islamabad extremely necessary, “Therefore, it was necessary to consult and review the current situation with our friends in Pakistan,” he added” he said.

He said that he had informed his “friends in Pakistan” about the “path and conditions” under which Tehran could continue its dialogue with Washington.
After visiting Pakistan twice in two days and making a trip to Oman in between, Araghchi arrived in Russia on Monday as part of his regional tour.

In a statement issued on his Telegram account, the Iranian FM provided an overview of his diplomatic engagements over the past few days.

Terming his trips to Islamabad and Muscat as “bilateral”, Araghchi said: “As for Pakistan, this country has recently played an important role in mediating the negotiations between Iran and the United States, and it was necessary for us to discuss the latest developments.

The minister recalled that the Iranian side had “good consultations with our friends in Pakistan, which, thank God, was a very successful trip”.

“We reviewed what has happened and talked about the path and conditions under which the negotiations can continue,” Araghchi stated.

He asserted that “40 days of heroic resistance of the Iranian people should enable us to secure the rights of the Iranian people, their independence, and the interests of the country”.

About Oman, Araghchi noted it was a “friendly and close country” to Iran, hailing Muscat’s “very good positions” during the Middle East conflict.

“It was necessary for us to have a meeting to establish broader relations with our neighbours, especially in the Persian Gulf, so that we could manage the existing problems,” he emphasised.

He highlighted it was “necessary to have consultations” regarding the Strait of Hormuz as Iran and Oman were the two coastal countries on the key waterway.

“Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is an important and global issue, and we and Oman, as two countries overlooking this strait, need to have close coordination to ensure common interests. In any action taken in this regard, the interests of Iran and Oman are directly involved,” Araghchi stated.