Tehran accuses Washington: “Trump’s excessive demands have scuttled negotiations”

Diplomacy seems to be making no headway in the Middle East. This is suggested by comments from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who, during a meeting with Putin in St. Petersburg, blamed the American counterpart for the failure of the latest round of negotiations, describing U.S. demands as “excessive.”

Araghchi: “There were signs of progress, then everything fell apart”

Speaking to reporters, Araghchi painted a picture that blended cautious optimism with harsh criticism. “There were some signs of progress in the negotiations,” he said, according to reports from Russian media. “The American approach caused the previous round of talks to fail in reaching its objectives, despite the progress made. This happened because of their excessive demands and their wrong approaches.”

Trump’s about-face and the return to Islamabad

Araghchi’s statements come at a moment of particular diplomatic tension. Over the weekend, American President Donald Trump canceled at the last minute the mission to Islamabad by special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, writing on his social network, Truth Social: “They can call us whenever they want, but you aren’t doing any more 18-hour flights to sit around and talk about nothing.”

Just the day before, Araghchi himself had rushed back to Islamabad to participate in the negotiations with the United States, mediated by Pakistan.

The Tehran-Moscow axis

The visit to Russia is more than just a routine diplomatic appointment. Araghchi took the opportunity to reiterate the strength of the ties between the two countries, writing on his Telegram channel: “We have always maintained close consultations with Russia and held continuous bilateral talks on a wide range of issues.” It is a message that also serves as a signal to Washington: Tehran is not isolated and can count on solid support.

Photo Kremlin.ru