Trump says Iran can call if it wants to talk

US President Donald Trump said that Iran could call if it wanted to negotiate an end to the war launched by the US and Israel, as Iran's foreign minister returned to Pakistan for talks despite the absence of US counterparts.



Hopes of reviving peace efforts had earlier receded after Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, even as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi continued to shuttle between mediating countries.



"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.



Iran has long demanded Washington acknowledge its right to enrich uranium, which Tehran says it only seeks for peaceful purposes but which Western powers and Israel 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, fuelled inflation and darkened the outlook for global growth.