US President Donald Trump Saturday cancelled envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s trip to Pakistan for talks on the war with Iran.
On Friday, the White House said the pair would head to the country on Saturday – but now Trump says “we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has departed Islamabad, Pakistan, after holding high-level meetings and delivering Tehran’s list of demands for ending the war to Pakistani officials.
US President Donald Trump later cancelled a planned trip to Pakistan by envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff for peace talks with Iran.
Pakistan has been trying to get the US and Iran back to the table since President Trump this week announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire, honouring Islamabad’s request for more diplomatic outreach.
Even before Saturday’s developments, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said any talks would be indirect and Pakistani officials would convey messages.
Tehran also noted indirect talks with the US last year and early this year over Tehran’s nuclear programme – the issue long at the heart of tensions – ended with it being attacked by the US and Israel, adding to its wariness.
The first round of talks in Pakistan lasted more than 20 hours, the highest-level direct talks between the adversaries since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
Araghchi and Trump’s envoys held hours of indirect talks in Geneva on February 27, but walked away without a deal. The next day, Israel and the United States started the war.
