Kamal Ghorui
Iranian delegation member Mohammad Marandi has claimed that the team that travelled to Pakistan for talks with the US received “direct threats and credible intelligence” suggesting their aircraft could be attacked en route to Islamabad, forcing a change in their return journey.Speaking in an interview with Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen network, Marandi said the aircraft was diverted from its original route and landed in Mashhad in Iran, after which the delegation continued to Tehran by train, car and bus. He said the move was taken following security warnings. “We received direct threats and credible intelligence indicating that the Iranian delegation’s plane to Islamabad could be attacked,” he said.He added that the return journey was altered after the alert. “The plane changed its route, landed in Mashhad, and the delegation was transferred by train and vehicles to Tehran.”Marandi also pointed to the timing of the development, linking it to broader diplomatic tensions. “Negotiations ended very abruptly… and that it was simultaneous with the opinion piece in the Washington Post,” he said, adding that it was “very close to the CIA.”Describing the return, he said the delegation chose to proceed despite the risks. “So the Iranians definitely felt threatened… everyone boarded the plane. No one wanted to stay in Pakistan and everyone was willing to take the risk,” he said.He also referred to Iranian civilians during recent tensions, saying the delegation remained composed despite perceived danger. “The delegation was very steadfast and everyone was in very high spirits on the flight,” Marandi said, adding that their conduct was similar to “the Iranian people on the streets who during the missile attacks took the risks and they remained steadfast on the streets.”US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that talks aimed at ending the conflict with Iran could resume in Pakistan within the next two days, following the collapse of weekend negotiations.“You should stay there…because something could be happening over the next two days, and we are more inclined to go there,” he was quoted as saying by the New York Post.Meanwhile, two US officials said on Wednesday that discussions were still under way over a possible new round of talks. A diplomat from one of the mediating countries also said Iran and the US had agreed to a second round of negotiations, according to reports.
