US President Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social, stating that he cancelled a visit by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad because of infighting within Iran’s leadership.
“There is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership’. Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” he says.
Trump also cites “too much time wasted on travelling, too much work” as reasons for cancelling the trip, reiterating that the US has “all the cards [and] they (Iran) have none”. “If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” he adds.
US President Donald Trump told Fox News on Saturday he had ordered his envoys not to travel to Pakistan to continue talks with Iranian officials on ending the war.
"I've told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, 'Nope, you're not making an 18 hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing,'" Fox News reported the president as saying in a phone call.
US President Donald Trump says cancelling his envoys’ trip to Islamabad for talks does not automatically mean war with Iran would restart, despite the setback in peace efforts, AFP reports. Asked whether the cancellation meant he would resume the war, Trump tells Axios: “No. It doesn’t mean that. We haven’t thought about it yet.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi termed his visit to Pakistan “very fruitful”.
In a post on X, he said, “Very fruitful visit to Pakistan, whose good offices and brotherly efforts to bring back peace to our region we very much value.
“Shared Iran’s position concerning a workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy,” he said.
Earlier, Pakistani government said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has left Islamabad for Muscat, Oman on Saturday night after holding talks with Pakistani leadership on peace talks. The Iranian Foreign Minister and his delegation left for Nur Khan Airbase. On this occasion, senior Pakistani officials, the Iranian ambassador and officials of the Iranian embassy bid farewell to the delegation.
The Iranian Foreign Minister will visit Moscow, Russia after Muscat. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also reached Lahore at his residence in Model Town.
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir separately in Islamabad on Saturday and discussed regional developments.
In his first official engagement after arriving in Pakistan, Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi met with Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad on Saturday and discussed regional developments.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on the social media platform X that he and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had a “most warm, cordial exchange of views on the current regional situation”. Taking to his official account after meeting with Iranian FM, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, "he was pleased to meet H.E. Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Foreign Minister of Iran, and his delegation in Islamabad today. Had a most warm, cordial exchange of views on the current regional situation. We also discussed matters of mutual interest, including the further strengthening of Pakistan–Iran bilateral relations".
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for “approximately two hours”.
“The prime minister emphasised on the importance of dialogue and diplomacy for peace and stability in the region and beyond,” he said.
According to the Iranian Embassy in Islamabad, important matters came under discussion during the meeting.
National Security Adviser General Asim Malik, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gharibabadi and the country’s ambassador to Pakistan Amiri Moghaddam were also present on the occasion.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived at the Prime Minister's House in Islamabad to meet Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.
A meeting between the two leaders discussed the regional situation. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir are also participating in the meeting.
Media reports quoted officials as saying that the discussions focused on the situation in the Middle East and related regional developments. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei earlier indicated that Tehran will convey its views on de-escalation through diplomatic channels, including the mediation efforts undertaken by Pakistan.
Officials further said the meetings were part of consultations on developments to revive the US-Iran negotiations to bring an end to the war in the Middle East.
Iran rules out direct talks with US
Iran's foreign minister arrived in Islamabad on Friday and US envoys headed to the Pakistani capital in a bid to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations amid a fragile ceasefire.
The White House said emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would engage in an "in-person conversation" with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said that direct talks were not in the cards.
Despite President Donald Trump's announcement on Thursday of a three-week ceasefire extension in Lebanon, Israeli strikes in the south of the country killed six people on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said.
While Trump expressed confidence at the prospect of a lasting peace in Lebanon, sealing a deal to end the wider Middle East war is a thornier proposition, even as urgency mounts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In an interview with Reuters news agency, US President Donald Trump said Iran plans to make an offer aimed at satisfying US demands.
"They're making an offer and we'll have to see," Trump said during a phone interview.
Trump said he did not know what the offer would be yet. He has been adamant that any deal includes Iran giving up its enriched uranium and allowing freedom of oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
When asked who the US was negotiating with, Trump said: "I don't want to say that, but we're dealing with the people that are in charge now."
He declined to provide names.
Trump has insisted the US military will maintain a blockade against Iran's ports until an agreement is reached.
When asked what is needed to lift the blockade, Trump said: "I'd have to be able to answer that question later. I have to see what they're offering."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Kushner would head to Pakistan on Saturday "to engage in talks...with representatives from the Iranian delegation."
"The Iranians reached out, as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation," Leavitt said, adding that the talks would "hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal."
Leavitt said Vice-President JD Vance, who led a first round of negotiations in Islamabad two weeks ago that concluded without a deal, would not be joining for the time being, but was on "standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary."
It remained unclear late Friday whether the Iranian side would meet directly with the US envoys.
Iranian state television said Araghchi has no plans to meet with the Americans and Islamabad would serve as a bridge to "convey" Iranian proposals to end the conflict.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said Araghchi had arrived in Islamabad to discuss "ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability" with Pakistani officials, without directly referencing talks with Witkoff and Kushner.
An Iranian spokesman said Araghchi would visit Oman and Russia after the Pakistan stop to discuss efforts to end the war launched against the Islamic Republic by Israel and the United States on February 28.
- EU says opening Hormuz 'vital' -
Since the last round of talks, efforts to bring the two sides back to the table have hit an impasse, with Iran refusing to participate as long as a US naval blockade on its ports remained in place.
Iran has imposed a de facto blockade of its own on the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only a trickle of ships to pass through the vital waterway, throwing global energy markets into turmoil.
Oil prices slid on Friday amid hopes that fresh peace talks would see an end to Tehran's disruption of trade through the strait.
European Council President Antonio Costa said Friday that the strait "must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling."
"This is vital for the entire world," Costa said.
Major Wall Street indices closed at fresh records on Friday as markets cheered the latest batch of earnings reports and US and Iranian officials headed to Pakistan.
The United States continued meanwhile to build up its forces in the Middle East with the arrival of its third aircraft carrier in the region, the USS George H.W. Bush.
- 'Destroyed' -
Trump spoke in glowing terms on Thursday of peace prospects for Lebanon after meeting with Israeli and Lebanese envoys, voicing hope for a three-way meeting with the Lebanese and Israeli leaders.
The two countries have been officially at war for decades and until last week had not met so directly since 1993.
Mohammed Raad, the head of the Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, urged the Lebanese government to withdraw from direct talks with Israel and warned that a lasting peace deal of the kind sought by Trump "will in no way enjoy Lebanese national consensus."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to destroy the Iran-backed movement, said: "We have started a process to reach a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and it's clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage this."
In south Lebanon's Tyre, Mohamad Ali Hijazi was searching a mountain of rubble for mementos of family members killed in an Israeli airstrike minutes before the ceasefire took hold.
"I'm trying to find my mother's hairbrush...and a bottle of perfume that she loves," said Hijazi, 48 -- some of the last things he sent her from France, where he has long lived with his wife and two daughters.
"My life has been destroyed. I haven't slept for five days," he told AFP, repeatedly fighting back tears.
- Hezbollah downs drone -
The Israeli military confirmed a claim by Iran-backed Hezbollah that it had used a missile to shoot down an Israeli drone in south Lebanon.
- US build-up -
The US military noted that it now has three aircraft carriers in the Middle East for the first time since it waged the 2003 Iraq war.
The three battle groups comprise "over 200 aircraft and 15,000 Sailors and Marines", US Central Command said on X.
- Tehran airport to reopen -
International flights from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport will resume on Saturday, the ISNA news agency reported, days after Iran reopened its airspace. The first flights will be to Istanbul and Muscat, the announcement said.
- 'Tight' gas markets -
The market for liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has been strained by the war, will remain "tight" through 2026 and 2027", the International Energy Agency said.
- UAE distrustful of Iran -
Rebuilding trust between Abu Dhabi and Tehran will take "ages and ages", UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said, after Iran targeted the United Arab Emirates during the Middle East conflict.
- Peacekeeper dies -
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, announced that an Indonesian blue helmet died in hospital of wounds suffered on March 29 in an attack on his base.
- US freezes $344m in cryptocurrency -
The United States has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency assets over ties to Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, as Washington seeks to raise pressure on Tehran amid energy supply disruptions due to the war.
Reporter: Anwer Abbas/Agencies