Iran says no meeting with U.S. negotiators planned in Pakistan
This photo, released by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 25, 2026, shows the meeting of Pakistani Chief of General Staff and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir (3rd Right) with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (3rd Left) upon his arrival in Islamabad. (Photo: Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / AFP via Getty Images) /
– | Afp | Getty Images
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Asim Munir, commander of the Pakistani armyThe possibility of a second round of direct talks between Iran and the US over the weekend looks uncertain, the Iranian embassy in Pakistan said in a post on X on Saturday.
A senior Iranian official said his government’s representatives had no plans to meet with senior US negotiators who traveled to Pakistan for talks.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said, “No meeting is planned between Iran and the USA. Iran’s observations will be conveyed to Pakistan.” to mail X Late Friday.
Also on Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan on Saturday morning to begin “direct talks” with their Iranian counterparts.
“The Iranians reached out” and asked for a face-to-face meeting, as President Donald Trump has asked them to do, Leavitt told Fox News.
“The President is sending Steve and Jared to hear what they have to say, and we hope that this will be a productive conversation and that will lead to progress toward an agreement,” he said.
Leavitt said Vice President JD Vance, who led the previous US delegation to Islamabad for the first round of talks with Iran, will not participate in the talks this weekend.
Trump told Reuters in a phone call later Friday that Iran “will make an offer,” adding that he didn’t know yet what it would be and “we’ll have to see.”
Araghchi said earlier Friday that he would be “taking a timely trip” to Islamabad, Muscat and Moscow to “coordinate closely with our partners on bilateral issues and consult on regional developments.”
In the Fox interview, Leavitt said “Pakistanis will mediate” the Islamabad talks.
The first round of peace talks, held in Islamabad two weeks ago and led by Vance on the US side, ended without an agreement.
A US delegation, including Vance, was expected to return to Pakistan at the beginning of this week to continue the negotiations, but the trip was postponed after Iranian officials said that this delegation would not come.
Much of the bilateral tensions have centered on the Strait of Hormuz, the main oil shipping route, where traffic has slowly diminished due to threats from Iran and a retaliatory naval blockade by the United States since last week.
Trump said in a Reuters interview that the United States will not lift the blockade of Iranian ports until an agreement is reached.
fat waiver
The United States also maintains economic pressure on Tehran in other ways.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told The Associated Press on Friday that the United States does not plan to renew a one-time exemption allowing offshore purchases of Iranian oil.
“Not the Iranians,” Bessent said. “We have a blockade and no oil is coming out.”
“And we think they’re going to have to start shutting down production in the next two or three days, which is going to be very bad for their wells.”
Bessent also said the United States does not plan to renew its exemption that currently allows the purchase of offshore Russian oil and oil products, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, the United States announced sanctions against Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., Ltd., an independent “teapot” oil refinery in China, for its purchase of Iranian oil products.
“Independent teapot refineries based in China continue to play a vital role in sustaining Iran’s oil economy, and Hengli is one of Iran’s largest customers for crude oil and other petroleum products, purchasing billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil,” the Treasury Department said. he said. expression.
The tensions have further strained the already fragile ceasefire, which was declared on April 7 after Trump threatened that Iran’s “entire civilization would die” if a deal was not reached.
Despite ongoing stress in the Strait, Trump unilaterally extended the ceasefire on Tuesday shortly before it expired.
After the war began on February 28, the Trump administration repeatedly stated that the operations would be short and that it expected to be concluded within four to six weeks.
Since that deadline passed, the administration has redefined the timeline, emphasizing that previous conflicts in the United States lasted much longer.
“Unlike the endless wars of the past that lasted for years and decades and failed to show any evidence, Operation Epic Rage achieved a decisive military result in just a few weeks,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said at a news conference Friday morning. he said.
– Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.
