This combination of pictures created on April 26 shows a pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, of Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, giving a speech during a ceremony for the Sluzhenie All-Russian Municipal Service Awards in Moscow on April 21, and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivering a speech during a session of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, on the sideline of a second round of US-Iranian talks with Washington pushing Tehran to make a deal to limit its nuclear programme in Geneva, Feb. 17. AFP-Yonhap
ISLAMABAD — Iran's foreign minister headed to Moscow on Sunday as peace efforts between Tehran and Washington hung in the balance, following a flurry of regional diplomacy and the collapse of planned talks in Pakistan.
Abbas Araghchi visited Oman between trips to Pakistani capital Islamabad and is expected in Russia on Monday to meet President Vladimir Putin, according to the Iranian ambassador.
On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump scrapped a planned trip to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
In a sign that efforts were ongoing, the Fars news agency said Iran had sent "written messages" to the Americans via mediator Pakistan outlining red lines, including nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz.
Fars said the messages were not part of formal negotiations, however.
A ceasefire in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has so far held, but its economic shockwaves continue to reverberate globally.
Iran has sealed off the strait, cutting flows of oil, gas and fertiliser and sending prices soaring, raising fears of food insecurity in developing countries.
Hopes for talks had centred on a planned visit by Witkoff and Kushner, but Trump cancelled the trip, dismissing it as "sitting around talking about nothing".
On Sunday, Trump told Fox News that if Iran wanted the talks, "they can come to us, or they can call us, you know there is a telephone, we have nice secure lines."
Source: Korea Times News
