Pakistan Army Commander and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (3R), who arrived in Islamabad on April 25, 2026, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (3R).
– | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said Saturday that he has canceled plans to send U.S. special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan.
President Trump said he had canceled a visit by a U.S. delegation to Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with its Iranian counterpart.
“Too much time wasted traveling and too much work! On top of that, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership’,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social. Also, we have all the cards and they have none! If you want to talk, just call!
Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Kushner, were scheduled to fly to Pakistan earlier in the day for “direct talks” with their Iranian counterparts, the White House said.
The Iranian embassy in Pakistan said in a post on X on Saturday that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Pakistan’s military chief Asim Munir. A senior Iranian official said there were no plans for representatives of the Iranian government to meet with U.S. negotiators.
“There are no plans for talks between Iran and the United States. Iran’s views will be conveyed to Pakistan,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Bakaei said in a post on X late Friday.
Reuters, citing two Pakistani government officials, said the Iranian delegation left the country on Saturday.
Araghchi praised the Pakistani leader in a post on X, but appeared to deny talks with the United States.
“A very fruitful visit to Pakistan. We highly appreciate Pakistan’s goodwill and brotherly efforts to restore peace to our region,” he wrote. “We shared Iran’s position on a workable framework to permanently end the war against Iran. It remains to be seen whether the United States is really serious about diplomacy.”
President Trump told Reuters in a phone call on Friday that Iran would “make an offer,” adding that he didn’t yet know what that would be and “we’ll have to wait and see.”
Araghchi said early Friday that he would “undertake a timely trip” to Islamabad, Muscat and Moscow to “work closely with partners on bilateral issues and discuss regional developments.” There was no indication that a meeting with U.S. officials was planned.
The first round of peace talks, held in Islamabad two weeks ago and led by Vice President J.D. Vance, ended without an agreement. Mr. Vance was not expected to accompany Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner on Saturday’s visit to Pakistan.
A U.S. delegation, including Vance, was scheduled to visit Pakistan earlier this week for further negotiations, but the visit was postponed after Iranian officials reportedly said they would not attend.
Much of the mutual disagreement centers on the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route that has been gradually emptied of traffic due to threats from Iran and, as of last week, a retaliatory naval blockade by the United States.
President Trump told Reuters that the United States would not lift the blockade of Iranian ports until a deal is reached with Iran.
oil exemption
The United States also maintains other forms of economic pressure on Tehran.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Associated Press on Friday that the United States has no plans to renew a one-time waiver that allows offshore purchases of Iranian crude oil.
“It’s not Iranian,” Bessent said. “There’s no oil coming out because it’s blocked.”
“And we think within the next couple of days they will have to shut down production, which will have a very negative impact on their wells.”
Bessent also said the United States has no plans to renew a waiver that allows it to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently at sea, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, the United States announced sanctions on China’s independent “teapot” refinery, Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, for purchasing Iranian oil products.
“The independent China-based Teapot Refinery continues to play a critical role in sustaining Iran’s oil economy, and Henri is one of Iran’s largest customers for crude oil and other petroleum products, purchasing billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
The tensions added to the already fragile ceasefire announced on April 7, amid President Trump’s threat that Iran’s “entire civilization will be destroyed” if no deal is reached.
Despite continuing tensions in the Strait, President Trump unilaterally extended the ceasefire on Tuesday just before it was due to expire.
Since the war began on February 28, the Trump administration has repeatedly said it expects the operation to be short-lived and over within four to six weeks.
Since that deadline passed, the administration has restructured its schedule, but stressed that previous U.S. conflicts have lasted much longer.
“Unlike the endless wars of the past, which lasted years or decades with little success, Operation Epic Fury produced decisive military results in just a few weeks,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said at a press conference Friday morning.
— CNBC’s Terry Cullen, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
