A senior Iranian official has claimed that the negotiation team faced a security threat while en route to Islamabad for peace talks last week.
Professor Mohammad Marandi, a member of the Iranian delegation that arrived in Pakistan last Saturday, said they were warned of a potential attack on their aircraft, which forced them to change plans. The threat forced them to divert their plane to Mashhad before the members travelled onward by train, car and bus, Marandi told Lebanese media outlet Al Mayadeen.
The delegation was warned of a potential attack on their aircraft while en route to the Pakistani capital. “We received direct threats while en route to Islamabad that our plane might be attacked,” he stated.
Following this, the team decided to alter its return plans, adding that delegation “returned from Islamabad via an alternative route.” He, however, did not provide details about the source of the alleged danger.
Marandi added that despite the threat, the delegation was determined to return to Iran and didn’t want to stay longer in Pakistan. ‘
Meanwhile, reports from Iran mentioned how tense moments prevailed throughout the talks with the US. “How can we trust you when, in the last Geneva meeting, you said the U.S. would not attack while diplomacy was underway?” the Iranian foreign minister asked during the talks.
The most substantive exchanges happened between US Vice President J D Vance, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. A security source described the negotiations as uneven. “There were ups and downs. There were tense moments. People left the room, and then came back,” reports quoted sources.
Though many times the talks appeared close to producing a deal, it broke down over key issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme and the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi’s tone also sharpened when discussions turned to guarantees, including non-aggression assurances and sanctions relief.
