US President Donald Trump on Saturday canceled a planned visit by two US envoys to Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator in the Iran conflict, dealing another blow to already fragile peace efforts, Reuters reported. The move came after Iran’s foreign minister left Islamabad without holding direct talks with US officials and met only with Pakistani officials.
As diplomatic efforts stalled, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his forces to carry out “violent” attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, according to his office, increasing pressure on the three-week-old ceasefire.
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Trump told reporters in Florida that he decided to cancel a planned visit by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner because the talks in Islamabad involved too much travel and expenses and Iran’s latest peace offer was not good enough for him, Reuters reported.
Before boarding Air Force One for a return flight to Washington on Saturday, Trump said Iran had improved its offer to resolve the conflict after canceling the visit “but not enough.”
Trump said, “And, you know, they’d like to see something happen, but we’re not going to travel 15-16 hours to have a meeting with people that nobody’s ever heard of… Too much travel.”
In a social media post, Trump also wrote that there is “tremendous infighting and confusion” in Iran’s leadership.
“Nobody knows who’s in charge, including them. Besides, we hold all the cards, they don’t! If they want to talk, just call!!!” posted on Truth Social.
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Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left the Pakistani capital without any sign of a breakthrough in talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials.
Although Araghchi described his visit to Pakistan as “very fruitful”, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Sharif in a phone call that Tehran would not enter into “forced negotiations” under threats or a blockade, according to a statement from the Iranian government.
Pezeshkian said the U.S. should first remove “operational obstacles,” including the blockade of Iranian ports, to be able to lay the groundwork for resolving the issues.
Iran and the US are at an impasse
Washington and Tehran are at an impasse because Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, while the US blocks Iranian oil exports.
The cease-fire conflict began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran has since launched strikes against Israel, US bases and the Gulf states, and the war has driven energy prices to multi-year highs, fueled inflation and dimmed global growth prospects.
Araghchi “explained our country’s principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the total end of the ordered war against Iran,” a statement on the minister’s official Telegram account said, Reuters reported.
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Responding to concerns about US demands in the talks, an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters that Tehran would not agree to “maximalist” terms.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US had seen some progress from Iran in recent days and expressed hope for further developments over the weekend, adding that Vice President JD Vance was prepared to travel to Pakistan if needed.
Vance previously held the first round of talks with Iran in Islamabad earlier this month, but those discussions did not yield a breakthrough.
(With inputs from Reuters)
