In a phone call on Saturday night, Abbas Araqchi and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty exchanged views on issues related to diplomacy, a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war on Iran, and recent developments in the region.
In a separate call, Araqchi also spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, briefing him on the latest developments concerning the ceasefire and the current state of diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war in the region.
On February 28, the United States and the Israeli regime launched an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran, during which then Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and several senior military officials were martyred.
Iranian Armed Forces responded with weeks of missile and drone strikes targeting American and Israeli military positions in the occupied territories and the Persian Gulf region, inflicting heavy damages in 100 waves of counterattacks over a period of 40 days.
A Pakistani-mediated ceasefire lasting two weeks was reached on April 8, paving the way for talks in Islamabad. During those negotiations, Iran put forward a ten-point proposal that included the withdrawal of US forces and the removal of sanctions.
However, after 21 hours of negotiations on April 11 and 12, the sides failed to reach a deal, with Iranian representatives pointing to deep mistrust regarding Washington’s willingness to honor its commitments.
Iran has made clear that any return to ceasefire negotiations depends on the lifting of the US naval blockade. Officials have argued that the continued blockade constitutes a violation of the truce.