Pakistan scrambles to salvage talks as Trump warns Iran of very bad time

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Washington/Islamabad  -  US President Donald Trump has said Iran has “an interest in reaching an agreement” as negotiations over the country’s nuclear programme and the ongoing conflict continue without resolution.

In a telephone interview with French broadcaster BFMTV on Saturday, Trump said he was uncertain whether a deal would soon be reached.

“I have no idea. If they don’t, they’re going to have a very bad time. They have an interest in reaching an agreement,” the American president told the BFMTV correspondent in the US.

According to several media reports, Trump is expected to decide in the coming hours whether or not to resume strikes against the Iranian regime, as talks aimed at ending the conflict and addressing Iran’s nuclear program have so far failed to produce results. Regional tensions have remained high since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran against Israel and US allies in Gulf countries, along with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. Trump later extended the truce indefinitely while maintaining a blockade on vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports through the strategic waterway.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni held talks with his Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran on Saturday on boosting border trade, strengthening security cooperation, and expanding bilateral ties, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. Pakistani government sources confirmed Naqvi’s arrival in the Iranian capital to Anadolu earlier on Saturday, after IRNA reported that the minister had arrived in Tehran “a few hours ago” as part of an unannounced visit. Momeni discussed a wide range of issues with the Pakistani minister, particularly border trade and ways to boost it, IRNA said.