SAINT PETERSBURG — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Saint Petersburg early on Monday for talks expected to include a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit followed a day of shuttle diplomacy on Sunday that took Araghchi between Pakistan and Oman.

Araghchi said the discussions in Russia would cover bilateral ties and regional issues, including the U.S.-Israel war on Iran. He described his earlier talks in Islamabad as very productive and said they included a review of the specific conditions under which negotiations between Iran and the United States could continue.

Iran has stepped up diplomatic efforts to end the war with the U.S. The two main sticking points are Iran's nuclear programme and access to the Strait of Hormuz, which remains under a de facto Iranian blockade.

According to Araghchi, Iran and Oman agreed to continue expert-level consultations to ensure safe transit and protect shared interests in the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran could telephone if it wanted to negotiate an end to the two-month war, and reiterated that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. He also said he was open to talks with Tehran.

Trump scrapped a visit to Islamabad by his representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. "It's not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, I really don't think so, based on what we know," he said.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to international organisations in Vienna, said the U.S. must abandon blackmailing and ultimatums in its negotiating position if talks with Iran are to move forward.