Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded on Saturday when Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

 RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting at the Kremlin last month. Azerbaijan has been redefining its traditional relationships with Russia and Iran, says the writer.
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting at the Kremlin last month. Azerbaijan has been redefining its traditional relationships with Russia and Iran, says the writer.
(photo credit: SPUTNIK/REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump said Iran could telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to their two-month war, as Tehran’s foreign minister landed in Russia on Monday to seek support from President Vladimir Putin.

Hopes of reviving peace efforts receded on Saturday when Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shuttled to and from mediators Pakistan and Oman on Sunday before flying to Russia, with the two sides still seemingly far apart on issues including Iran’s nuclear ambitions and access through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices rose, and US stock futures wobbled lower in early Asian trade on Monday after US-Iran peace talks stalled over the weekend, leaving Gulf shipping blocked.

“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Trump told “The Sunday Briefing” on Fox News.

“They know what has to be in the agreement. It’s very simple: They cannot have a nuclear weapon; otherwise, there’s no reason to meet,” Trump said.

US President Donald Trump against the backdrop of the NATO flag, April 24, 2026; illustrative.
US President Donald Trump against the backdrop of the NATO flag, April 24, 2026; illustrative. (credit: CHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTY IMAGES)

Iran has long demanded Washington acknowledge its right to enrich uranium, which Tehran says it only seeks for peaceful purposes, but which Western powers say is aimed at building nuclear weapons.

Although a ceasefire has paused full‑scale fighting in the conflict, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, no agreement has been reached on terms to end a war that has killed thousands, driven up oil prices, fueled inflation and darkened the outlook for global growth.

Trump faces domestic pressure to end war

Axios reported on Sunday that Iran gave the US a new proposal through Pakistani mediators on reopening the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, and the ending of the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage.

The US State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report, which cited an unnamed US official and two sources with knowledge of the matter.

With his approval ratings falling, Trump faces domestic pressure to end the unpopular war. Iran’s leaders, though weakened militarily, have found leverage in negotiations with their ability to stop shipping in the strait, which normally carries a fifth of global oil shipments.

Tehran has largely closed the strait while Washington has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports.

Araghchi returned to Islamabad after holding talks on Sunday in Oman, another mediator in the war, and then headed to Russia.

Iran’s envoy in Russia, Kazem Jalali, said in a post on X that Araghchi would meet Putin “in continuation of the diplomatic jihad to advance the country’s interests and amid external threats.”

“Iran and Russia are present in a united front in the campaign of the world’s totalitarian forces against independent and justice-seeking countries, as well as countries that seek a world free from unilateralism and Western domination,” Jalali said.

While Araghchi met Pakistani officials, Trump, speaking in Florida on Saturday, said he canceled his envoys’ visit due to too much travel and expense for what he considered an inadequate Iranian offer. Iran “offered a lot, but not enough,” he said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone on Saturday that Tehran would not enter “imposed negotiations” under threats or blockade, an Iranian statement said.

He said the United States should first remove obstacles, including its maritime blockade, before negotiators could begin laying the groundwork for a settlement.

US and Iran have extensive disagreements

Disagreements between the US and Iran extend beyond Tehran’s nuclear program and control of the strait.

Trump wants to limit Iran’s support for its regional proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, and curb its ability to strike US allies with ballistic missiles. Iran wants a lifting of sanctions and an end to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah.

In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed 14 people and wounded 37 on Sunday, the health ministry said. The Israeli military warned residents to leave seven towns beyond the “buffer zone” it occupied before a ceasefire that has failed to fully halt hostilities.


By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

Iran’s oil infrastructure could “explode” sometime in the next three days as a result of the American blockade on the Islamic Republic, President Donald Trump warned over the weekend.

Speaking with Fox News on Sunday, the president said that without the ability to export oil, Iran’s storage infrastructure will be overwhelmed within a matter of days, culminating in explosions, Trump said.

“When you have, you know, lines of vast amounts of oil pouring through your system, if for any reason that line is closed because you can’t continue to put it into containers or ships, which has happened to them — they have no ships because of the blockade — what happens is that line explodes from within, both mechanically and in the earth,” Trump told Fox News.

The damage to Iran’s oil infrastructure could be permanent, the president added.

“It’s something that happens where it just explodes. And they say they only have about three days left before that happens. And when it explodes, you can never, regardless, you can never rebuild it the way it was.”

  Pentagon planning for extended ground operation in Iran – report

According to a report by The New York Post, some experts have said that Iran’s oil infrastructure could be in danger in the immediate future, suggesting that Iran may be forced to shut down production at its oil fields as early as April 29 to prevent its storage facilities from being overloaded.

Iran has reportedly already exhausted its primary storage capacity off of the mainland, and is diverting excess oil to secondary tanks located onshore.

Shutting down oil field production could cause “long-term damage” to the fields, said Annika Ganzeveld, the Middle East portfolio manager for the American Enterprise Institute, in an interview with the Post.

The regime could extend its storage capacity by using oil tankers as makeshift oil reservoirs.

However, without an outlet for oil exports, Iran’s storage capacity, estimated at 122 million barrels, will eventually run out, regardless of stopgap solutions.

At that point, the regime will be forced to halt all oil production, a step which would inflict lasting economic damage.

 


Israel warns US: Hormuz easing would signal weakness to Iran

Jerusalem cautions that any relief on naval pressure could embolden Tehran and undermine prospects for a real disarmament deal.

Donald Trump

Donald TrumpDaniel Torok, White House Spokespesron

Israel recently passed a message to the Trump administration warning that any easing of the naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz will be interpreted by Tehran as weakness, Channel 12 News reported.

Such a move, even if partial or temporary, would not lead to flexibility on Tehran’s part, the sources stressed, according to the report.

Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem warned that the Iranians are expected to entrench their positions and use any concessions to improve their starting point for continued confrontation, rather than pursue a true disarmament agreement.

The US Army has already formulated a plan in case negotiations for a deal with Iran explode and fighting resumes. According to CNN, the Pentagon formulated a detailed attack plan for immediate execution in case the ceasefire collapses. The main focus of the plan is the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran continues to threaten global shipping routes.