Iran says no meeting with U.S. negotiators planned in Pakistan

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with the head of Pakistan’s military, Asim Munir, the Iranian embassy in Pakistan said in a post on X on Saturday, as prospects for a second round of direct talks over the weekend between Iran and the U.S. seemed uncertain.

A senior Iranian official said his government’s representatives have no plans to meet with senior U.S. negotiators headed to Pakistan for talks.

“No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S. Iran’s observations would be conveyed to Pakistan,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a post on X late Friday.

Also on Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will head to Pakistan on Saturday morning to engage in “direct talks” with their Iranian counterparts.

“The Iranians reached out” and asked for an in-person conversation, as President Donald Trump had asked them to do, Leavitt said on Fox News.

“So the president is dispatching Steve and Jared to go hear what they have to say, and we’re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal,” she said.

Vice President JD Vance, who led a prior U.S. delegation to Islamabad for an initial round of negotiations with Iran, will not be attending this weekend’s talks, Leavitt said.

Trump told Reuters in a phone call later Friday that Iran will be “making an offer,” adding that he did not know what it would be yet and “we’ll have to see.”

Araghchi, earlier Friday said he was “embarking on a timely tour” of Islamabad, Muscat and Moscow in order to “closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments.”

The Islamabad talks will be “intermediated by the Pakistanis,” Leavitt said in the Fox interview.

The first round of peace talks, held two weeks ago in Islamabad and led on the U.S. side by Vance, ended with no deal.

A U.S. delegation including Vance was expected to head back to Pakistan earlier this week for further negotiations, but the trip was delayed as Iranian officials reportedly said they would not show up.

Much of the mutual prickliness has centered on the Strait of Hormuz, the major oil-shipping route that has seen traffic slow to a trickle amid Iranian threats and, as of last week, a retaliatory U.S. naval blockade.

Trump, in the Reuters interview, said the U.S. will not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until a deal is struck.