WASHINGTON — US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan this weekend for additional peace talks with Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Friday.
Pakistani mediators will facilitate “direct talks” on Saturday between the president’s envoys and “representatives from the Iranian delegation,” Leavitt told Fox News’ “America Reports.”
“The Iranians reached out — as the president called on them to do — and asked for this in-person conversation,” she added.
“We’re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation, and hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal.”
A senior Trump administration official added that Vice President JD Vance is “willing to drop everything” to “make his way over there if needed.”
Several top Vance aides will be in attendance already.
During the first round of negotiations April 11, Vance attended with Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, acting as the VP’s high-level counterpart
Ghalibaf is not expected to attend this weekend’s talks as speculation swirls about his status in Iran’s feactured leadership.
The Tehran delegation — led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — arrived in Islamabad late Friday local time, according to photos posted by their embassy in Islamabad.
The Iranian side has not publicly confirmed it would participate in talks with the US.
“The Iranian foreign minister will not hold any negotiations with the Trump regime in Islamabad and will merely convey Iran’s considerations and views regarding the end of the war to the Pakistani side,” claimed Iranian professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi, who traveled with the Tehran delegation for the first round of talks, in a post to X.
“This meeting is a response to General Asim Munir’s trip to Tehran, and I have been informed that no negotiations with any Americans are planned during this visit.”
Iranian officials are also expected to stop in Oman and Russia after stopping in Pakistan, per Iran’s state-run IRNA news outlet.
Much of downtown Islamabad has been closed to facilitate the high-level diplomatic discussions, as the US-Iran conflict stretches into its eighth week.
President Trump extended what was supposed to be a two-week cease-fire Tuesday, but has threatened to resume airstrikes against Tehran if the talks fail.
“If they don’t want to make a deal, then I’ll finish it up militarily with the other 25% of the targets,” he said in the Oval Office Thursday.
