ISLAMABAD, Apr 24:
President Donald Trump is sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday to continue talks with Iran, the White House said today.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview on Fox News Channel that the two will have talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“We’re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward to a deal,” Leavitt said.
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She said that Vice President JD Vance would not be travelling but that he remains “deeply involved.” She said he will be in the US, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president’s national security team, on “standby” to fly to Pakistan “if necessary.”
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today said that he was travelling to Pakistan, Oman and Russia to “closely coordinate” with them on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments, reviving hopes for the second round of Iran-US peace talks to end the war in West Asia.
“Embarking on timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow,” Araghchi wrote on X ahead of his departure from Tehran.
“Purpose of my visits is to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments. Our neighbours are our priority,” he said.
Araghchi will lead a small delegation to Pakistan, Oman, and Russia on Friday to “hold bilateral consultations and discuss current developments in the region, as well as the latest situation” in the US-Iran war, state-run IRNA news agency earlier reported.
A senior official of the Shehbaz Sharif government said that Araghchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Friday night with a small delegation. “Following key discussions with the Pakistani mediation team, a second round of peace talks between the US and Iran is expected to be held in Islamabad,” he told PTI.
He said that a US logistics and security team is already present in Islamabad to facilitate the negotiation process.
The official said that once the Iranian delegation arrives here and works out the framework of talks with the US technical team, then the high-powered US delegation would likely arrive here on Saturday night.
“But this is subject to some kind of understanding reaching with Iran,” he said.
The development comes hours after Deputy PM Ishaq Dar and Araghchi spoke over the phone and “exchanged views on regional developments, the ceasefire, and ongoing diplomatic efforts being pursued by Islamabad in the context of US-Iran engagement.” (Agencies)
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