President Donald Trump announced he has called off a planned trip by US envoys to Pakistan for more talks with Iran, stating that the effort would be pointless. Trump said, according to a White House statement, that 'We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want,' adding that envoys would not make an 18-hour flight to sit around talking about nothing. The White House had earlier said that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan's capital to attempt to revive ceasefire negotiations, but Trump said he cancelled the trip because of too much time wasted on traveling and too much work.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan on Saturday and held no direct negotiations with American government representatives, according to Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmael Baqaei. Instead, Pakistani officials conveyed messages between the Iranian and US delegations. Araghchi met with Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about Iran's red lines for negotiations, according to multiple reports. He wrote on Telegram that he spoke with Pakistani officials about Iran's red lines for negotiations. Araghchi said Tehran would continue engaging with Pakistan's mediation efforts until a result is achieved.
The first round of talks in Pakistan, led on the US side by JD Vance, lasted more than 20 hours and were face-to-face. Araghchi and Trump's envoys held indirect talks in Geneva on 27 February but walked away without a deal. The next day after the Geneva talks, Israel and the United States started the war. Iranian officials have openly asked how they can trust the US after talks last year and early this year over Tehran's nuclear program ended with it being attacked by the US and Israel.
Tehran would continue engaging with Pakistan's mediation efforts until a result is achieved.
An open-ended ceasefire has paused most fighting, but the assessment of its stability is disputed. Some sources describe the ceasefire as shaky and warn it could soon collapse, while others say it is open-ended and has paused most fighting. The economic fallout from the conflict continues to grow, with global shipments disrupted by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran attacked three ships this week, and the price of Brent crude oil is still nearly 50% higher than when the war began. The US imposed a physical blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, according to research.
Trump has ordered the military to 'shoot and kill' small boats that could be placing mines, according to a Pentagon official. Germany's defense minister Boris Pistorius said Germany is sending minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean to help remove Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz once hostilities end. The US maintains a blockade on Iranian ports, according to multiple reports.
Iranian officials have expressed deep distrust of the US after previous negotiations ended in a military attack. Trump said there is tremendous infighting and confusion within Iran's leadership, according to a White House readout. The cancellation of the envoy trip underscores the fragile state of US-Iran relations.
I spoke with Pakistani officials about Iran's red lines for negotiations.
The US continues to apply economic pressure on Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US does not plan to renew a waiver allowing purchase of Russian oil at sea, and that a renewal of a one-time waiver for Iranian oil at sea is off the table. The Trump administration placed economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and about 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil, according to research.
Pakistan has been trying to get the US and Iran back to the table since Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire, according to research. Iran said talks would be indirect. The mediation role of Pakistan remains a key channel for potential future negotiations.
In other developments, Trump said he is entirely unconcerned with reports of insider trading, according to the Daily Mirror. A detained Kuwaiti-American journalist arrested in Kuwait has been released after intervention by the Trump administration, the State Department said.
Several unknowns remain. It is unclear whether US envoys actually traveled to Pakistan before Trump cancelled the trip. The White House said its envoys would meet Araghchi, but Trump said he called off the trip and they did not go. Iran's specific red lines for negotiations have not been publicly detailed. The durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain, with conflicting assessments of its stability. The exact status of the Strait of Hormuz blockade and its impact on oil shipments is also not fully clear.