Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has discussed the most important developments on the Pakistan-mediated diplomatic process between Iran and the United States, as well as key regional issues, with his Saudi and Egyptian counterparts.
Araghchi held separate phone calls with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty on Monday.
The call between the top Iranian and Saudi diplomats marked their second contact in 24 hours.
Araghchi and Abdelatty, the Egyptian foreign minister, also discussed the latest developments in the region.
On Sunday, the Iranian foreign minister exchanged views with his Qatari and Dutch counterparts on key regional issues.
The phone calls came a day after Iran sent Pakistan its response to a US proposal for ending the war, but US President Donald Trump rejected it as “totally unacceptable.”
The criminal US-Israeli aggression against Iran began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated senior Iranian officials and commanders, including the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
In response, the Iranian Armed Forces launched decisive daily missile and drone operations targeting locations in the Israeli-occupied territories, as well as US military bases and assets across the region.
Iran also retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which resulted in a significant increase in the price of oil and its by-products.
On April 8, forty days into the war, a Pakistan-brokered temporary ceasefire between Iran and the US took effect.
Negotiations followed in Islamabad but stopped short of an agreement due to Washington’s maximalist demands and insistence on unreasonable positions.
Since then, Iran has refused to rejoin the process unless the US lifts an illegal blockade it has imposed on Iranian vessels and ports.
Tehran has also asserted that as long as the blockade remains in place, it has no intention of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
