Iran-US war latest: Trump cancels Pakistan peace summit and says Tehran ‘can call us’ if they want to talk – UK Times

Iran and Oman have agreed to continue consultations on the Strait of Hormuz through expert-level talks, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said.

It comes after talks between the US and Iran stalled, with Donald Trump saying Tehran “can call us” if they want to talk.

With US representatives absent, Mr Araqchi held talks with Omani officials in Muscat yesterday, after leaving Islamabad where the talks were supposed to be held and before travelling to Saint Petersburg to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Iran has separately put a new proposal to the US through Pakistani mediators to reopen the strait and end the war, with nuclear talks postponed to a later stage.

Iran has given the US a new proposal through Pakistani mediators to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage, Axios reported, citing a US official and two sources with knowledge of the matter.

The proposal would bypass the thorniest issue in negotiations – Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile – en route to a faster deal.

As part of it, the ceasefire would be extended for a long period or the parties would agree on a permanent end to the war, with nuclear talks beginning only after the strait was reopened and the US blockade lifted. The White House has received the proposal but it is unclear whether the US is willing to explore it.

“These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the US will not negotiate through the press,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told Axios.

“The United States holds the cards and will only make a deal that puts the American people first, never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

The proposal came after US president Donald Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner over the weekend, saying the Iranian position made the trip pointless.

Mr Trump told Fox News on Sunday he wanted to continue the naval blockade, hoping it would force Tehran to cave “over the next few weeks.”

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Saint Petersburg for talks with president Vladimir Putin, Iran’s IRNA news agency reported, after shuttling between mediators Pakistan and Oman yesterday as peace efforts showed little sign of progress.

Iran’s envoy in Russia, Kazem Jalali, said in a post on X that Mr Araqchi’s visit was part of a “diplomatic jihad to advance the country’s interests amid external threats,” adding that “Iran and Russia are present in a united front” against Western dominance.

The trip comes after US president Donald Trump on Saturday scrapped a visit to Islamabad by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, saying Iran had “offered a lot, but not enough.”

Mr Trump told Fox News yesterday that Iran could call if it wanted to negotiate. “If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone,” he said.Iran has demanded Washington lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports before negotiations can begin.

A ceasefire has paused full-scale fighting but no agreement has been reached on ending the war, now in its ninth week.

Oil prices climbed around 2 per cent on Monday to touch a three-week high of $107.97 a barrel as stalled US-Iran peace talks prolonged the disruption to Middle East energy exports, with barely any ships carrying oil and gas transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Goldman Sachs lifted its year-end Brent forecast sharply from $80 to $90 a barrel, warning that even that rests on normalisation of Gulf exports by the end of June. “Non-linear price increases are likely if inventories drop to critically low levels, which we have not seen in the last few decades,” the bank said. LNG prices for June delivery into northeast Asia were nearly 61 per cent above pre-war levels last week.

US president Donald Trump cancelled a trip to Islamabad by US envoys over the weekend, though investors took some comfort from an Axios report saying Iran wants to make a deal on opening the strait first and postpone nuclear talks until later.

A ceasefire has frozen most fighting in the war triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran two months ago, but markets remain focused on the shuttered strait. Major central banks are expected to hold rates steady this week, though aggressive bets on future hikes in Britain and Europe could be tested if policymakers strike a cautious tone.

The UK government is escalating its planning to counteract potential shortages stemming from the Iran conflict.

Oil prices have soared since the US-Israel war on Iran began, driven by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a key shipping lane that once handled a fifth of global oil and gas.

The Prime Minister will chair another meeting of the Cabinet committee, established to manage the fallout, this Tuesday, following last week’s Middle East Response Committee session.

Donald Trump has said Iran can reach out to the United States if it wants to negotiate an end to the war.

“If they want to talk, they can ⁠come to us, or ​they ⁠can call us. ‌You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, ‌secure lines,” Trump said ‌in an interview on Fox News.

It comes after he canceled ⁠a trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday, which was a setback to peace talks.

Iranian ‌Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi departed Islamabad after speaking ‌only to ⁠Pakistani officials, but has since ⁠returned to Pakistan despite the ‌absence of US counterparts.

Price hikes as a result of the Iran war will be felt for at least eight months after the conflict ends, a government minister has warned.

The chief secretary to the prime minister, Darren Jones, warned people will see higher energy, food and flight prices “as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East” and said there will be a “long tail from this”.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has hailed talks with Pakistani officials as “fruitful” but said he is “yet to see” if the US is equally serious about negotiations.

“Very fruitful visit to Pakistan, whose good offices and brotherly efforts to bring back peace to our region we very much value,” he wrote in a post on X on Saturday.

“Shared Iran’s position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy.”