“I can confirm that Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be leaving for Pakistan again tomorrow morning to participate in negotiations (…) with representatives of the Iranian delegation,” White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told Fox News on Friday.
Iranian state media confirmed earlier that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Pakistan on Friday to mediate between the Islamic Republic and the United States to end the war in the Middle East.
“Iran’s foreign minister will begin a regional tour on Friday evening, April 24, visiting Islamabad, Muscat and Moscow,” the official IRNA news agency said after a Pakistani official announced the visit.
“The purpose of this trip is to hold bilateral consultations, discuss ongoing developments in the region and review the latest situation regarding the war imposed by the US and Israeli regime against Iran,” the statement said.
Earlier, an official source in Pakistan said that Araghchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Friday evening.
The source did not provide information on who the Iranian minister intends to meet.
Pakistan seeks to resume ceasefire talks between Iran and the United States.
At the time, Leavitt said that “representatives of Iran, as the president has called for, have reached out to us and asked to have this direct conversation.”
“We hope it will be a productive conversation and hopefully it will help us move towards an agreement,” she added.
The talks will take place more than two weeks after Vice President JD Vance held the first round of talks with Iranian officials in Pakistan.
Earlier this week, JD Vance was ready to go to Islamabad again, but postponed the trip because Iran did not confirm its participation.
Leavitt said the vice president remains open to flying to Pakistan, but won’t do so just yet.
“Everyone will be ready to fly to Pakistan if necessary,” she said.
Mr. Witkoff, who went from being Donald Trump’s business partner to a globe-trotting negotiator, and Mr. Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law, held talks with Iran shortly before the first attacks by Israel and the United States on February 28. As a result, Tehran accused them of fraud.
During the first round of talks in Pakistan, JD Vance said Iran had rejected US demands for curbs on its disputed nuclear program.
Trump has extended the ceasefire indefinitely, despite previously issuing genocidal threats to destroy Iran’s entire civilization.
“The president always wants to give diplomacy a chance. That’s always his first choice, and he’s willing to do that in this case,” Leavitt said.
