US President Donald Trump canceled a trip to Islamabad by two envoys to meet Iran war mediator Pakistan on Saturday after Iran’s foreign minister flew out of the Pakistani capital following talks, dealing a new setback to peace prospects.
Trump said in a social media post that he had called off the planned visit by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, citing what he said was tremendous confusion in the Iranian leadership.
“Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,’” he wrote on Truth Social. “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!!!”
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said: “I’ve told my people… ‘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.”
Trump further told the Axios news site that this didn’t necessarily mean the war was restarting. “It doesn’t mean that,” he said in response to a question from the outlet. “We haven’t thought about it yet.”
Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi laid out Iran’s demands and its reservations about US positions in Islamabad, as Pakistan made a new push to end a war that has killed thousands and shaken global energy markets.
After holding talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other top officials, Araghchi and his delegation departed Pakistan’s capital with a military jet escort, government sources said. Details of the talks were scant.
Araghchi said it remained to be seen whether the United States was “truly serious” about diplomacy. In a post on X, he said he had “shared Iran’s position concerning [a] workable framework to permanently end the war.”
It was not immediately clear if or when Araghchi would return to Pakistan. Iran previously ruled out a new round of direct talks with the United States.
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 (LNG) shipments, while the US blocks Iran’s oil exports.
Iran sets out its ‘principled positions’
The conflict, in which a ceasefire is now in force, began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran carried out strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states, and the war pushed up energy prices to multi-year highs, stoking inflation and darkening global growth prospects.
In Pakistan, Araghchi “explained our country’s principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against Iran,” said a statement on the minister’s official Telegram account.
Asked about Tehran’s reservations about US positions in the talks, an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters: “Principally, [the] Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands.”
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had earlier told reporters that Iran had a chance to make a “good deal.”
“Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely,” he said. “All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways.”
Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday. But an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson posted on X that Iranian officials did not plan to meet US representatives and that Tehran’s concerns would be conveyed to mediator Pakistan.
Trump told Reuters on Friday that Iran planned to make an offer aimed at satisfying US demands but that he did not know what the offer entailed. He declined to say who Washington was negotiating with, “but we’re dealing with the people that are in charge now.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that the US had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days and hoped more would come this weekend, and that Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan as well.
Days after Trump extended the ceasefire, international flights resumed from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Saturday, Iranian media said. The first passengers departed for Saudi Arabia, Oman and Turkey, with operations expected to accelerate in the coming days.
“Well, it’s a good feeling. When flights resume, trade is done, and people can do their jobs. It’s a good feeling,” said one passenger at the airport, where passengers were queuing at check-in desks.
Iranian airspace has been largely closed since the start of the war. Tens of thousands of flights have been canceled, rerouted and rescheduled worldwide, shutting much of the Middle East’s airspace because of missile and drone threats.
Oil prices surged this week, with Brent crude futures soaring 16%, on uncertainty over the fate of the peace talks and as violence flared in the region.
Shipping data on Friday showed that five ships had crossed the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 24 hours, compared to around 130 a day before the war. The ships included an Iranian oil-products tanker, but none of the vast crude-carrying supertankers that normally feed global energy markets.
Data analytics firm Vortexa said this week it had recorded 35 total transits through the US blockade from April 13 to 22, involving Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels for inbound and outbound journeys.
“The enemy, whose objective of crippling Iran’s missile and military capabilities has failed, is now seeking an honorable exit from the quagmire of war,” Iranian media quoted a defense ministry spokesperson as saying. “Iran is today in firm control of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iranian state TV quoted the country’s top military command as reiterating that Iran would react if US forces continued their “blockade and piracy” in the region.
Iran attacked three ships this week, while the US maintains a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small boats that could be placing mines, he said.
Israel’s cabinet on Thursday discussed preparations for a potential return to hostilities, with Channel 12 news reporting that Jerusalem and Washington were both preparing options for quick operations in Iran that would be over in weeks — likely attacks on energy and national infrastructure.
