Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi returned to Islamabad on Sunday in connection with peace talks, a day after leaving the country for a brief visit to Oman.

According to IRNA News Agency​​​​​, Araghchi reached the capital from Muscat, while an Iranian delegation also arrived from Tehran.

The capital witnessed the arrival of foreign guests linked to the talks, which encountered a setback a day earlier after the US President Donald Trump said he would not send his delegation to Islamabad despite an earlier announcement of their visit.

Read: Iran will not negotiate under pressure, threats or siege: President Pezeshkian

Meanwhile, the Islamabad administration once again closed the Express Highway amid heightened security arrangements for the high-level visit.

Officials said the movement of guests associated with the negotiations prompted strict security measures in parts of the city. Further details regarding the engagements of the visiting delegation were not immediately available.

In an advisory issued today, Islamabad Traffic Police said that diversions would be implemented at different times on Express Highway and Srinagar Highway.

“Traffic flow may be affected during these periods, and commuters are advised to plan their journeys with additional time,” it said.

The advisory further urged the citizens to cooperate with traffic staff and exercise patience while travelling.

“Islamabad police remain present on roads to facilitate the public. For further updates and information, citizens were advised to follow the Islamabad Traffic Police WhatsApp channel,” it added.

Oman’s Sultan, Iranian FM discuss regional crises, push for diplomacy, peace

Earlier in the day, Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said met Araghchi in Muscat, where both sides discussed the regional situation and mediation efforts aimed at ending the US-Iran war.

“Consultations took place regarding the latest developments in the regional situation, mediation efforts, and endeavours aimed at ending conflicts,” Oman’s Foreign Ministry said in a post on X.

The Iranian foreign minister departed Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, after discussing the overall situation in the region with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.

FM Araghchi, who ​arrived in Islamabad on Friday night, had posted on X that he would be visiting Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow “to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments.”

Also Read: Oman’s Sultan, Iranian FM discuss regional crises, push for diplomacy, peace

President Trump announced on Saturday that he had cancelled the trip of his representative going to Islamabad to meet with the Iranians after the White House said special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were to depart for talks with Araghchi.

“Too much time wasted on travelling, too much work!” Trump wrote announcing his delegations’ cancellation. The president added that there is “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Tehran’s leadership. “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” he added, claiming, “we have all the cards, they have none!”

The president concluded, “If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”

The snag in talks between the US and Iran comes in the wake of a two-week Pakistan-brokered ceasefire that allowed for the first direct consultations between the US and Iran in decades.

Although the two sides engaged in negotiations in Islamabad to de-escalate tensions, the talks ultimately ended with no agreement reached. Araghchi stated after the breakdown in talks that the sides were inches away from what he called the “Islamabad MoU.”

Tehran has maintained that the talks ended with no consensus due to the US’ maximalist positions, while the US maintains Iran failed to give firm assurances that it would not seek nuclear weapons.