Araghchi Set to Travel to Pakistan, Raising Hope for Renewed Talks to End War

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency confirmed Friday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was heading to Pakistan for talks and will also stop in Oman and Russia. The trip to Pakistan comes as officials there have been trying to get the United States and Iran to a second round of ceasefire negotiations. The report said the trip, beginning Friday, is focused on “ongoing regional developments” and the US-Iran war. This came as US President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday. The meeting was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday. Also, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov who appreciated Pakistan’s “constructive role” in facilitating dialogue between Iran and the United States. Dar reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to supporting efforts that promote dialogue and diplomacy to resolve disputes, it said. Both sides agreed to remain in contact, it added.