U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and White House adviser Jared Kushner will travel to Islamabad on Saturday for direct talks with Iran after Tehran initiated contact with the Trump administration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday, in remarks that aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform, that "the Iranians want to talk in person."
It would be the first direct talks between Washington and Tehran since April 11, when the sides also met in Islamabad. Those talks came just days after President Donald Trump imposed a two-week ceasefire in a conflict that began Feb. 28 with joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes targeting Iran's political leadership and military infrastructure.
But those talks broke down because Vice President JD Vance, leading the U.S. delegation, said the U.S. did not see "an affirmative commitment" from Iran "that they will not seek a nuclear weapon."
Just hours before the ceasefire expired Wednesday, Trump extended it, seeking to build momentum for a deal before returning to military options.
"Look, as you know, and I spoke about it earlier this week, the president was flexible in granting an extension of the ceasefire," Leavitt said outside the White House. "Throughout this time, the president has decided to dispatch special envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner back to Islamabad.
"The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person, and so the president is, as I've said many, many times to all of you, always willing to give diplomacy a chance. So, Steven and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out. We hope progress will be made and we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting and we will see."
Leavitt said Vance will not be attending but "is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it's a necessary use of his time."
Trump told Reuters on Friday that Iran plans to make an offer aimed at satisfying U.S. demands.
"They're making an offer and we'll have to see," Trump said.
Reuters also reported that the Iranian delegation arrived in Pakistan on Friday, as Islamabad reprises its role as a mediator. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is believed to be part of the negotiating team.
The Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, denied that Tehran requested an in-person meeting in Pakistan. The state-run outlet wrote that the Islamic Republic has not made any request for talks with the Americans, Iran International, a Persian-language outlet based in London, reported.
Tasnim added that the Islamic Republic "on the contrary, has completely rejected the Americans' requests for negotiations until now due to their excessive demands."
Iran International also reported that the hardline speaker of Iran's Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Galibaf, has reportedly resigned as head of the regime's negotiating team because of disagreements over the country's position on its nuclear ambitions.
Jamshid Barzegar, a journalist and political analyst, told Iran International that during the negotiations "it became clear that Galibaf is not capable of giving a final answer to the United States."
"Now, the turmoil at the leadership levels in the Islamic Republic has practically caused the negotiations to stop," Barzegar said. "Meanwhile, considering the strategy that the Islamic Republic has to buy time, it is trying to use this weakness, namely the lack of leadership and the division in the leadership, as a positive point in the current situation to prolong the negotiations.
"However, with the continuation of the siege, the situation will not be easy for the Islamic Republic, and perhaps Abbas Araghchi's visit to Pakistan can be evaluated in this regard."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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