Iran said it will not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats as Germany’s foreign minister urged Tehran to engage constructively with the United States in Islamabad. Johann Wadephul said the U.S. vice president is prepared to travel to Islamabad and that Iran should take up the offer for the sake of its own people.
The remarks came as Iran Air said domestic flights would resume on Wednesday, ending a 50-day pause caused by the war. The first route back will be the Tehran-Mashhad corridor, with return flights also set to operate the same day, a sign that civilian travel is beginning to move again after weeks of disruption. For coverage of the widening diplomatic standoff, see Touska: Trump vows U.S. will retrieve nuclear material as Iran talks stall and Fallout deepens as US freezes Europe out of Iran talks and oil moves.
Wadephul delivered his appeal before a European foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, placing the Iran talks squarely against a backdrop of war and regional strain. The source framing the diplomacy ties the flight restart to the conflict that forced the 50-day halt, underscoring how closely the talks are linked to conditions on the ground.
The friction did not stop at diplomacy. Iran’s army said last night that the tanker Sili City entered the country’s territorial waters after passing through the Arabian Sea despite repeated threats from the U.S. military. The tanker, according to the army statement relayed by Mehr News Agency, had been stationed for several hours at one of the anchorages of Iran’s southern ports. Iran’s High Council for Human Rights also condemned U.S. and Israeli attacks on religious, cultural and historical sites across Iran, saying the destruction of the Tehran Jewish Synagogue and heavy damage to the Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral and St Mary Greek Orthodox Church went beyond violations of international humanitarian law.
The wider regional picture remains unsettled. Lebanon’s National News Agency reported several Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon despite an ongoing ceasefire, another sign that the conflict surrounding Iran is still rippling well beyond its borders.