Topline<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump said Saturday he cancelled a trip for U.S. envoys to engage in peace talks in Pakistan, one day after the White House announced Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff would travel to Islamabad, with Trump claiming the United States holds \u201call the cards.\u201d <\/p>\n
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to head to Islamabad for negotiations Saturday. (Photo by Jacquelyn MARTIN \/ POOL \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
POOL\/AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
Trump, in a Truth Social<\/a> post Saturday afternoon, said he cancelled Kushner and Witkoff\u2019s trip to Islamabad because \u201cwe have all the cards, they have none,\u201d and if Iran wants to talk, \u201call they have to do is call.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToo much time wasted on traveling, too much work,\u201d Trump said, adding, \u201cBesides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their \u2018leadership.\u2019 Nobody knows who is in charge, including them.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump told Fox News<\/a> he canceled the trip earlier Saturday, saying the U.S. envoys are \u201cnot going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n The White House announced Kushner and Witkoff\u2019s trip on Friday, though Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post<\/a> on X Iranian officials would not meet directly with U.S. envoys and would instead communicate through Pakistani mediators.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday, as Pakistan mediates talks between the United States and Iran to end the war.<\/p>\n Sharif said in a post<\/a> on X Saturday he had \u201ca most warm, cordial exchange of views on the current regional situation\u201d with Araghchi, in which they discussed \u201cmatters of mutual interest, including the further strengthening of Pakistan\u2013Iran bilateral relations.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier Saturday, Iran\u2019s Khatam al-Anbiya military command warned in a statement carried by state media the \u201caggressive U.S. military\u201d will \u201cface a response from Iran\u2019s powerful armed forces\u201d if it continues its \u201cblockade, banditry, and piracy in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n What Do We Know About The United States\u2019 Blockade?<\/p>\n President Donald Trump announced<\/a> the United States would impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports nearly two weeks ago, in hopes of pressuring Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and accept a peace deal to end the war. But in response to the blockade, Iranian officials said last week it had reimposed \u201cstrict control\u201d over the Strait of Hormuz, saying the closure would continue until the United States lifts its blockade. The United States has vowed to keep the blockade going, and Trump said in a Truth Social<\/a> post earlier this week he would extend a ceasefire with Iran and direct the military to continue its blockade of Iranian ports. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a news conference on Friday the blockade would continue for \u201cas long as it takes\u201d for Iran to comply with U.S. demands. \u201cAll they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways, or instead they can watch the regime’s fragile economic state collapse under the unrelenting pressure of American power,\u201d Hegseth said<\/a>. <\/p>\n What Do We Know About U.s.-Iran Talks?<\/p>\n Before Trump cancelled Witkoff and Kushner\u2019s trip, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt<\/a> announced they would travel to Islamabad to \u201chear the Iranians out.\u201d Leavitt claimed \u201cthe Iranians want to talk, they want to talk in person,\u201d though Iran\u2019s foreign ministry said no direct talks would take place. Vice President JD Vance, who previously led a U.S. delegation for talks in Pakistan, was not scheduled to be in attendance, though Leavitt said he would be \u201con standby\u201d to travel to Islamabad \u201cif we feel it\u2019s a necessary use of his time.\u201d <\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n Vance, Kushner and Witkoff traveled to Pakistan earlier this month for peace talks<\/a>, the most high-level, face-to-face meeting between U.S. and Iranian officials since 1979. Vance said no peace deal was reached after a marathon negotiation session that stretched for more than 20 hours. The New York Times reported the Strait of Hormuz remained a sticking point in the negotiations, as the United States demanded an immediate reopening, while Iran vowed to reopen it only after a final peace deal was brokered. The talks came days after Trump announced a two-week ceasefire, which put a halt to his previous threat that Iranian civilization would \u201cdie.\u201d<\/p>\n Further Reading<\/p>\n