Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad late Sunday for Moscow, where he is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday after a second round of Pakistan-mediated diplomacy with the United States collapsed without direct contact between the two sides.

Araghchi had returned to Islamabad on Sunday — a day after leaving — only to learn that US President Donald Trump had cancelled the planned visit by special envoy Steve Witkoff and presidential adviser Jared Kushner. Iran’s ISNA news agency said Tehran transmitted “written messages” to Washington through Pakistani mediators covering the country’s “red lines, including nuclear issues and the Strait of Hormuz,” but stressed the exchange was not part of formal negotiations.

The Iranian foreign minister described his Pakistan trip as “very fruitful” but said he had “yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy.” Trump on Sunday took a harder line: “We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us.”

International benchmark Brent crude rose more than 1% to $106.56 per barrel by 12:44 a.m. ET Monday, with US crude up 0.9% at $95.25, after the diplomatic stall. The Revolutionary Guards reportedly boarded two cargo ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, CNBC reported, as tensions in the strategic sea lane remain high. The strait remains blockaded, with the IRGC declaring on Telegram that controlling it is “the definitive strategy of Islamic Iran.”

The Russia-as-mediator track is qualitatively new in this cycle: Araghchi has met Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar twice in five days, the second visit cancelled by Trump within hours. The Brent surge takes oil back above the $106 mark briefly hit on April 24 when Trump declared the strait “sealed up tight.”

The diplomatic pivot to Moscow comes as Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed in a social-media post late Friday: “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S.”

Axios reported Sunday, citing a US official and two regional sources, that Iran’s written proposal offers to end its chokehold on Hormuz without addressing its nuclear program — postponing nuclear negotiations to a later stage. The proposal, passed via Pakistan, also asks Washington to lift its blockade as part of any deal. Two regional officials told Axios the offer is “not likely to receive the backing” of Trump, who has insisted any agreement must terminate Iran’s atomic program.

In its most explicit framing yet, Ada Derana reported Monday evening that Iran’s formal proposal links Hormuz reopening to two conditions: the US lifting its blockade and an end to the war. Brent crude was trading around US$108 per barrel — nearly 50% above pre-war levels — as the closure continues to push fertiliser, food and goods prices higher worldwide.

In Saint Petersburg, Putin told Araghchi that Moscow “will do everything that serves your interests, the interests of all the people of the region, so that peace can be achieved as soon as possible,” according to RIA Novosti. Araghchi thanked Putin for Russia’s support and described relations between the two countries as a “strategic partnership” that will continue to strengthen. Putin asked Araghchi to convey his “best wishes and good health” to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, TASS reported, and separately said he had received a message from the Supreme Leader.

Sources