Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday. Pakistan's Prime Minister Office/Handout via Reuters-Yonhap

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi laid out Iran's demands and its reservations about U.S. positions on Saturday as Pakistan made a new push to end a war that has killed thousands and shaken global energy markets.

After holding talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other top officials, Araqchi and his delegation flew out of Pakistan's capital Islamabad with a military jet escort, government sources said. Details of the talks were scant. The White House had earlier said President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner would travel to Islamabad on Saturday.

It was not immediately clear if or when Araqchi would return to Pakistan. Iran has previously ruled out a new round of direct talks with the United States.

Washington and Tehran are at an impasse as Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments, while the U.S. blocks Iran's oil exports.

Iran sets out its 'principled positions'

The conflict, in which a ceasefire is now in force, began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran has since carried out strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states, and the war has pushed up energy prices to multi-year highs, stoking inflation and darkening global growth prospects.

Araqchi "explained our country's principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against Iran", said a statement on the minister's official Telegram account.

Asked about Tehran's reservations about U.S. positions in the talks, an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters: "Principally, Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands." U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier told reporters that Iran had a chance to make a "good deal".

"Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely," he said. "All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways."

Source: Korea Times News