Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are traveling to Pakistan on Saturday for meetings with Iran’s delegation, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi landed in Islamabad on Friday evening for high-level talks with mediator Pakistan, Iranian state media report.
But no direct talks with the Americans are planned, according to the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baqaei.
“Iran’s stance will be conveyed to Pakistan,” he writes on X.
Trump awaits offer
Trump claims in an interview with Reuters that Iran plans to present an offer to meet American demands.
“They’re putting forward an offer, we’ll see,” Trump said, according to Reuters.
Araghchi said earlier on Friday that he would also visit Russia and Oman. The Iranian foreign minister’s trip is focused on “bilateral consultations” and “the latest situation surrounding the imposed war,” according to the state-controlled Iranian news agency Irna.
“Our neighbors are our priority,” Araghchi wrote in a post on X.
Vance stays home
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, who led the first round of negotiations with Iran two weeks ago, is staying home but remains “deeply involved”, according to Karoline Leavitt, who claims that the U.S. has seen “some progress from the Iranian side in recent days”.
On Tuesday, Trump announced that the previously agreed ceasefire would be extended, but that the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports would continue until Iran’s “fragmented” leadership could unite.
The Iran War began with the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Tehran on February 28.
