US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will soon travel to Pakistan for talks with Iran’s foreign minister, a US official told Reuters on Friday.
“I can confirm that Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be leaving for Pakistan again tomorrow morning to engage in talks,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Friday.
“The Iranians have reached out, as the president has called them to do, and asked for this one-on-one interview,” she said.
“We hope this will be a productive conversation and we hope to move the ball forward toward an agreement.”
Vice President JD Vance does not currently plan to attend, but will be on standby to travel to Islamabad if talks move forward, CNN, which first reported the travel plans, said. Kushner and Witkoff have been working with Iranian officials for months on a potential deal on Tehran’s nuclear material, the report added.
Iranian Foreign Minister to visit Pakistan
The development came hours after Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister and the country’s leading figure in peace talks with the US, confirmed he would travel to Pakistan this weekend.
“I am embarking on a timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat and Moscow. The purpose of my visits is to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral issues and consult on regional developments,” Iran’s top diplomat said in a post on X.
The first round of talks between us and Iran
The US and Iran held the first high-level direct talks in Pakistan’s Islamabad on April 11, aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire and addressing nuclear concerns.
The American team was led by Vice President JD Vance, while the Iranian delegation was led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Despite talks lasting more than 20 hours over two days, the first round ended without a formal agreement or breakthrough.
During the first round of talks in Pakistan, Vance said Iran rejected US demands to curb its disputed nuclear program.
Trump extended the cease-fire indefinitely after earlier threatening a genocide to destroy the entire Iranian civilization.
“The president always wants to give diplomacy a chance. It’s always his first option, and he’s willing to do it again,” Leavitt said.
Will the US and Iran hold a second round of talks?
There has been speculation about a second round of direct talks between the US and Iran in the coming days, but neither side has yet confirmed this. Pakistan, which is hosting the talks, is still continuing its preparations, including a security lockdown in Islamabad with 20,000 troops deployed.
