US PRESIDENT Donald Trump will send his top envoys to Pakistan tomorrow for fresh peace talks with Iran, officials say.
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Sign up for The Jattvibe newsletter
Thank you!
US President Donald Trump will send his top envoys to Pakistan for fresh peace talks with Iran Credit: Getty
Key issues that derailed the first peace talks remain including control over the Strait of Hormuz Credit: AFP
Leavitt said the administration is hopeful after seeing “some progress” from Iran.
But Iranian semi-official state media has already denied talks were going ahead, despite Araghchi flying into Pakistan on Friday.
Araqchi wrote on X that he was visiting Pakistan, Oman and Russia.
The tour will include discussions on the latest efforts to end the war, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson told state media.
NOT STRAIT FORWARD
Map reveals all alternative routes for oil & gas to bypass Hormuz Strait
HOLDING ON
Israel & Lebanon extend ceasefire despite Iran truce on knife-edge
He will not speak with the US representatives, Iran said.
US vice-president JD Vance, who led the Washington delegation at previous talks, will not attend but remains on stand-by, the White House said.
The high-stakes trip to Pakistan comes after Iran refused talks with the US earlier this week over its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
But Trump said on Friday that the regime planned to make an offer aimed at satisfying US demands.
“They’re making an offer and we’ll have to see,” he said.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a briefing earlier on Friday that Iran had a chance to make a “good deal” with the US.
“Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely … at the negotiating table. All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways,” he said.
Trump extended a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday at the 11th hour to allow more time to reconvene the negotiators.
But key issues that derailed the first set of talks remain over Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme, its regional proxies, and control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, is not expected to attend despite heading Tehran’s delegation at the talks earlier this month.
It comes after Israel and Lebanon extended a separate ceasefire for three weeks at a meeting brokered by Trump on Thursday.
The initial truce between Beirut and Tel Aviv was announced after the first meeting between negotiating teams on April 14.
It is due to expire on Jattvibeday.
Trump also said he expected Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese president Joseph Aoun to meet in a trilateral White House summit in the next “couple of weeks”.
It comes after Israel launched a major attack on Lebanon last month amid the war with Iran.
At least 2,450 people have been killed and more than one million have been displaced, according to Lebanese authorities.
The invasion came in response to rocket fire by Hezbollah – which vowed to avenge Israel’s killing of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
His death marked the start of the US-Israel war with Iran on February 28.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Pakistan Credit: Reuters
A building in Tehran destroyed by US-Israeli strikes Credit: Getty
