US President Donald Trump has said that he ordered his envoys not to travel to Pakistan to continue talks with Iranian officials on ending the war.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said "I've told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, 'Nope, you're not making an 18-hour flight to go there.'"
"We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing," he added.
He also told media outlet Axios that the cancellation of the talks did not mean a resumption of hostilities, insisting that "we have not thought about it yet."
US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were to head to Pakistan on Saturday for an "in-person conversation" in order to "hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal", the White House said on Friday.
Iranian state media, however, had insisted said that direct talks were never on the table to begin with, as foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrapped his own diplomatic visit to Islamabad ahead of Trump's announcement.
Araghchi met with Pakistani military chief Asim Munir, a key figure in the mediation effort, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and foreign minister Ishaq Dar.
A first round of negotiations between Iran and the US took place in Pakistan earlier this month but both sides failed to reach a deal.
Pakistan has emerged as the leading mediator in efforts to end the war, with an initial round of negotiations held in its capital earlier this month.
Islamabad appeared to be under near-lockdown on Saturday morning in order to host the talks that never materialised. Soldiers and police were stationed at key intersections, posted on rooftops overlooking major roads, and helicopters circled overhead. Checkpoints, road closures and diversions across the city, particularly near the so-called "red zone" surrounding the negotiation venue.
Commercial flights resume at Tehran's airport
Meanwhile, Iran has resumed commercial flights at Tehran's international airport on Saturday, the first time its done so since the conflict with the US and Israel broke out late February.
Flights bound for Istanbul, Oman’s capital of Muscat and the Saudi city of Medina departed from the Imam Khomeini International Airport, Iran's state-run media reported.
Three Istanbul-bound flights were seen departing on Saturday morning on the Flightradar24 tracking platform.
Iran's airspace has largely remained closed since 28 February, but partially reopened earlier this month when the first ceasefire was announced.
