(ATTN: UPDATES throughout)
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, April 24 (Yonhap) — Key U.S. negotiators will leave for Pakistan this weekend for peace talks with Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday, noting that Washington has seen “some progress” from Tehran in the last couple of days.
During a meeting with reporters, Leavitt said that Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, will head to Pakistan on Saturday to engage in talks mediated by Pakistan.
Earlier in an interview with Fox News, she said that Iran reached out and asked for the in-person talks with the U.S. The plan to resume talks came as the United States has been doubling down on its naval blockade and other measures to pressure Tehran to make a deal to end hostilities.
“The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person. And the president is … always willing to give diplomacy a chance. So Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out,” she said, according to a White House pool report.
“We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting,” she added.
This photo, released by the Associated Press, shows U.S. President Donald Trump speaking in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on April 23, 2026. (Yonhap)
Asked if the U.S. delegation’s planned departure for Pakistan signals the U.S. has received a unified proposal from Iran, Leavitt pointed out “some progress” from the Islamic Republic. She did not elaborate.
“We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days,” she said. “Again, the president has made the decision to send Steve and Jared to hear the Iranians out, and so we’ll see what they have to say.”
Vice President JD Vance will stay in the U.S., Leavitt said. Vance joined the first round of negotiations with Iran on April 11 and 12.
“The president, the vice president, the secretary of state, will be waiting here in the U.S. for updates,” she said. “The vice president, I understand, is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it’s a necessary use of his time.”
CNN said, citing two U.S. officials, that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will participate in the upcoming talks with the U.S. negotiators. Iran’s Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, its top negotiator, will not join, it said.
It remains unclear whether Washington and Tehran can make a breakthrough in the upcoming negotiations, where the U.S. delegation is expected to seek a firm commitment by Iran to renounce its nuclear ambitions.
On Tuesday, Trump announced an extension of a ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a “unified” peace proposal, citing a “seriously fractured” Iranian government. The U.S. believes Iran struggles with internal division between hard-liners and moderates, which makes it difficult to come up with a coherent proposal.
The ceasefire has appeared to be on shaky ground as the U.S. continues its naval blockade of Iranian ports, with the Islamic Republic angrily responding to it.
This photo, released by AFP, shows U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (R) and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner (L) looking on as Vice President JD Vance speaks at a news conference in Islamabad on April 12, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
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