The Donald Trump administration has dispatched envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Pakistan for a new round of talks aimed at restarting negotiations with Iran. US Pushes For Breakthrough As Talks Stall The planned visit comes after the last talks failed to produce progress, despite a temporary ceasefire extension backed by Trump. U.S. officials see the trip as a critical effort to break the deadlock and build momentum toward a broader agreement. "The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person and the president is always willing to give diplomacy a chance," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Friday. "We hope progress will be made." Iran Denies Meeting With US Envoys However, Iranian officials are pushing back on the U.S. narrative. State media outlets reported that no meeting has been scheduled between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the American delegation. Officials indicated that any communication would likely be indirect, potentially routed through Pakistani intermediaries. Iranian spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei reinforced that position on X, saying, "No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S. Iran’s observations would be conveyed to Pakistan." Pakistan Emerges As Key Mediator Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday for meetings with senior Pakistani leaders, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as Islamabad works to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Tehran. A Pakistani official told Axios that discussions will focus on restarting negotiations, with a trilateral meeting still under consideration. Uncertainty Clouds Diplomatic Path Forward The timeline for any direct engagement remains unclear, with Araghchi expected to continue traveling to Oman and Russia in the coming days. Vice President JD Vance is not part of the initial delegation but is on standby if talks advance. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Image via Shutterstock © 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.
The Donald Trump administration has dispatched envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Pakistan for a new round of talks aimed at restarting negotiations with Iran. US Pushes For Breakthrough As Talks Stall The planned visit comes after the last talks failed to produce progress…
See this event through different lenses
Compare how Western, Iranian, Israeli, Global South, and Pro-Peace perspectives frame this event.
Compare PerspectivesLoading notes...
International mediators have proposed a 10-day ceasefire between the United States and Iran, according to a senior Iranian official cited in reports. The measure is described as intended to reduce hostilities and allow renewed talks on a prior interim agreement.
Both sides are assessing next steps in the current regional security situation.
Reports indicate that a US-Iran ceasefire has broken down amid renewed fighting, with the potential impact of mediation efforts by Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman remaining unclear. Earlier diplomatic steps included a June memorandum of understanding between the parties for further negotiations and talks hosted in Geneva in February.
The summary also references Europe’s historical role in diplomacy, including the 1814-15 Congress of Vienna.
Donald Trump stated in a Fox News interview that his representatives had spoken with Iranian officials an hour earlier and that those officials wanted to make a deal to end the conflict, though he noted they had broken prior agreements and expressed uncertainty about whether one would be reached.
He added that people do not want to die and that Iran would need to proceed carefully to avoid further losses. The remarks come amid an ongoing US-Iran conflict that has involved casualties and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, with some social media users criticizing the repetition of similar statements.
Why the Iran-US ceasefire is falling apart Iran and the US have resumed fighting because they don’t see each other as ‘reliable negotiating partners’, says analyst Ali Vaez. Neither Iran nor the United States seems able to deliver a “knockout blow at an acceptable price” to the other side, and both know “they have no choice other than engaging in diplomacy”, but they’re not ready to make uncomfortable concessions, argues Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at International Crisis Group.
Vaez tells host Steve Clemons that Tehran and Washington are trying to “enforce their own interpretation” of the ceasefire agreement they signed last month. President Trump has become “frustrated” with diplomacy because he’s not seeing “the kind of quick results that he likes to see”, Vaez says.