President Donald Trump cancelled a trip by two US envoys to Iran war mediator Pakistan yesterday, dealing a new setback to peace prospects after Iran’s foreign minister departed Islamabad after speaking only to Pakistani officials.
While peace talks failed to materialise yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his troops to ‘forcefully’ attack Hizbollah targets in Lebanon, his office said, further testing a three-week ceasefire.
Trump told reporters in Florida that he decided to call off the planned visit by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner because the talks in Islamabad involved too much travel and expense, and Iran’s latest peace offer was not good enough for him.
Before boarding Air Force One yesterday for a return flight to Washington, Trump said Iran had improved an offer to resolve the conflict after he cancelled the visit, ‘but not enough’.
In a social media post, Trump also wrote there was ‘tremendous infighting and confusion’ within Iran’s leadership.
“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!” he posted on Truth Social.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi earlier left the Pakistani capital without any sign of a breakthrough in talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials.
Araqchi later described his visit to Pakistan as ‘very fruitful’, adding in a social media post that he had ‘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’.
Iranian media reported that Araqchi had flown to Muscat, saying he will meet with senior officials to ‘discuss and exchange views on bilateral relations and regional developments’.
Sharif wrote in a post on X that he spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about the regional security situation and told him that Pakistan was committed to serving ‘as an honest and sincere facilitator – working tirelessly to advance durable peace and lasting stability’.
Tehran has ruled out a new round of direct talks with the US and an Iranian diplomatic source said his country would not accept Washington’s ‘maximalist demands’.
Washington and Tehran are at an impasse as Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, while the US blocks Iran’s oil exports.
White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt had said the US had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days and hoped more would come over the weekend, while Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan as well.
Vance led a first round of unsuccessful talks with Iran in Islamabad earlier this month.
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