🔻 Talks by phone between Tehran, Riyadh and Islamabad continue

IRNA, Iran’s state news agency, has reported on the continuation of phone talks between Abbas Araqchi and his Saudi counterpart, as well as Field Marshal Aasim Munir, Pakistan’s army commander. In the early hours of Monday—12 Mordad—IRNA wrote that Abbas Araqchi spoke by phone for the second time on Sunday night with Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister.

Mr. Araqchi had also held phone consultations on Sunday with Pakistan’s foreign minister, and there is now news of his contact with Field General Aasim Munir, Pakistan’s army commander, and an influential figure in this country’s negotiations in Islamabad.

It appears that, in light of Donald Trump’s statements in the hours ahead, a new round of talks between Tehran and Washington will take shape, which—according to the U.S. president—will focus on “the Strait of Hormuz” and Iran’s “nuclear program.” These are issues that were also addressed in the previous memorandum of understanding between the two countries in Islamabad.