Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Russia on Monday, where he will meet with President Vladimir Putin, after completing a visit to Pakistan in which he delivered written messages that Tehran conveyed via Islamabad, about its red lines in the nuclear file and the Strait of Hormuz. In this context, Araqchi said that his country and the Sultanate of Oman, as two countries overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, agreed to continue consultations at the expert level, to ensure safe passage and protect common interests in the waterway. This comes amid a fragile truce, internal pressure on US President Donald Trump, and escalating tension in Lebanon between Hezbollah and Israel.

Published on: 04/27/2026 - 05:10 Last updated: 04/27/2026 - 11:16

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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg on Monday, coming from Islamabad. According to official Iranian media, Araqchi will hold talks with President Vladimir Putin about bilateral relations and regional issues, including the conflict between Iran and the United States.

Upon his arrival in Russia, Araqchi considered that ensuring the safety of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz constitutes an “important global issue.”

The Iranian Foreign Minister concluded a new visit to Pakistan, the country at the forefront of mediation efforts, after a stop in Muscat during which he presented the latest developments in communications with the United States, as the mediators are betting on reviving peace talks between Tehran and Washington.

This return to Islamabad came over the weekend after canceling a visit that was supposed to be made by US President Donald Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, in light of faltering efforts to end the war that erupted after a US-Israeli attack on Tehran on February 28.

Fars News Agency reported that Tehran delivered through Pakistan “written messages” to Washington that included “some red lines for the Islamic Republic of Iran, including nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz,” with the agency stressing that these messages do not constitute formal negotiations.

In the same context, Araqchi said that Iran and Oman, as countries overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, agreed to continue consultations at the expert level to ensure safe passage and protect common interests in the waterway.

The truce declared since April 8 has continued amid the continuing global economic repercussions of the war, at a time when the United States is imposing a blockade on Iranian ports, while Tehran keeps the Strait of Hormuz closed and refuses to negotiate under the siege.

In early April, Islamabad hosted the first round of direct talks between the two parties within the framework of the truce, without reaching an agreement to end the war.

Read also: Iran displays its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and threatens Washington and Tel Aviv amid a tanker war

Trump announced on Saturday that Witkopf and Kushner would not visit Pakistan, and said, "We have all the cards. They (the Iranians) can call us whenever they want, but you're not going to take 18-hour trips anymore to sit and talk about nothing."

He was keen to stress that canceling the visit does not mean resuming the war, explaining that the Iranians “presented to us a document that should have been better than it was,” and that after the cancellation they “presented a new, better document” without revealing its details.

He reiterated Sunday on Fox News, saying, "I said we will not do this anymore. We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us, as you know there is a phone, and we have good secure lines."

Internal pressure on Trump is intensifying with the rise in gasoline prices in the United States as a result of the closure of the Strait and the approaching midterm elections in November, while opinion polls indicate that the war does not enjoy widespread support on the American street.

"Very productive"

On Saturday, Pakistan witnessed Araqchi's meetings with Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Army Commander Asim Munir, who plays a pivotal role in mediation, before he returned again to Islamabad on Sunday.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry later reported that he had left for Russia to hold talks with “senior officials,” while the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the visit without mentioning a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

ISNA news agency quoted the Iranian ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, as saying that Araqchi will meet Putin on Monday “to consult on the latest developments in the negotiations, the ceasefire, and the surrounding developments.”

On the X platform, Araqchi described his visit to Pakistan as “very fruitful,” saying, “A very fruitful visit to Pakistan, whose good intentions and fraternal efforts we greatly appreciate to restore peace in our region.”

I presented Iran's perspective on a framework...to permanently end the war on Iran. "We have to see if the United States is really serious about diplomacy."

Read also: Who actually rules Iran and who makes the decisions?

Mutual accusations

The Iranian crisis is intertwined with field tension in Lebanon, where the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is wavering, despite Trump’s announcement on Thursday to extend the truce for an additional three weeks after a negotiating session at the ambassadorial level in the White House.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that Hezbollah is “undermining” the agreement that entered into force on April 17, stressing in a government meeting that “Hezbollah’s violations undermine the ceasefire.”

Hezbollah, on the other hand, asserts that Israel is the one violating the truce, and that “the resistance’s continued targeting and bombing of Israeli enemy concentrations on our land that it occupies” in northern Israel represents “a legitimate response to its persistent violations of the ceasefire since day one.”

The Lebanese Ministry of Health recorded the killing of 14 people, including two children and two women, and the wounding of 37 in Israeli raids on southern Lebanon on Sunday, while the National News Agency reported that the Israeli army had warned residents of seven villages north of the Litani River to evacuate “urgently and immediately,” and that raids targeted the town of Kafr Tibnit and the center of the eastern town of Zawtar, targeting a mosque and a Husseinieh, destroying them.

The text of the agreement published by the US State Department enshrined Israel’s right to take “all necessary measures to defend itself” against “planned, imminent, and continuing attacks.”

France 24/AFP

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