US President Donald Trump said Saturday that he cancelled the trips of US special envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner to Pakistan for talks with Iranian officials, according to media reports on Saturday.
“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18 hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you’re not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing’,” Trump told Fox News via phone.
Separately, Trump also told US news site Axios via phone that he sees “no point of sending them on an 18 hour flight,” adding that “We can do it just as well by telephone. The Iranians can call us if they want. We are not gonna travel just to sit there.”
When asked if it means he is going to resume the war, Trump told Axios: “No. It doesn’t mean that. We haven’t thought about it yet.”
The first round was held in Islamabad two weeks ago but failed to reach an agreement to end the conflict that began on Feburary 28 and engulfed the entire Middle East. Those talks came after Pakistan brokered a two-week ceasefire on April 8, which was later extended by Trump.
Iran has refused to engage in direct talks with the US, saying its observations would be conveyed to Pakistan.
Some of the sticking points are said to be the Strait of Hormuz, the US blockade of Iranian ports, and Iran’s enriched uranium.
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This comes just hours after the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, amid efforts to revive stalled peace talks between the US and Iran to end their eight-week war.
The meeting, according to a brief statement and video released by the prime minister’s office, was also attended by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
According to Sharif’s office, the regional situation was being discussed in the ongoing meeting.
“(I) was pleased to meet H.E. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister of Iran, and his delegation in Islamabad today. Had a most warm, cordial exchange of views on the current regional situation. We also discussed matters of mutual interest, including the further strengthening of Pakistan–Iran bilateral relations,” Sharif wrote on US social media platform X after the meeting.
Dar said the meeting lasted around two hours, and Sharif emphasised the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for peace and stability in the region and beyond.
After meeting with Prime Minister Sharif, Araghchi left Pakistan for his planned visit to Muscat and Moscow, according to Pakistani sources
Earlier, Araghchi held a separate meeting with army chief Munir, who recently traveled to Tehran.
Araghchi arrived in Pakistan late Friday for what Pakistani officials say could pave the way for the second round of negotiations. He will also travel to Muscat and Moscow.
