Trump CANCELS US envoy's trip to Pakistan for Iran peace negotiations

By NATASHA ANDERSON, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 17:17, 25 April 2026 | Updated: 17:28, 25 April 2026 President Donald Trump has cancelled Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's trip to Pakistan for Iran peace negotiations, it has emerged.  Trump has claimed it is not worth sending his envoys overseas when the US already has 'all the cards' over Tehran, he told Fox News' White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie on Saturday. 'I've told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, "Nope, you're not making an 18 hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing",' the president said. Trump added to Fox News: 'They can call us anytime they want.'  The president's remarks came after it was revealed that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan on Saturday without meeting the US delegation. Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday and held a series of meetings with Pakistani Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday. They discussed what Araghchi described as Iran's red lines for negotiations, and said Tehran would engage with Pakistan's mediation efforts 'until a result is achieved.' Iran had said talks would be indirect. Earlier, the White House said Trump was sending Witkoff and Kushner to Islamabad on Saturday to 'hear the Iranians out'.  But Iran said it would 'not accept maximalist demands' and their officials left Pakistan without meeting American representatives.  President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach Fla., Friday, April 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei previously said that Araghchi would only be meeting with 'Pakistani high-level officials' and that 'no meeting is planned' with the US.  Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation in the first round of talks with Tehran that collapsed, was not expected to attend the second round of negotiations. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted on Friday that he had been placed on 'standby' to travel to Pakistan should peace talks become serious and said it was not a case of the VP being sidelined by President Trump. In a statement, Leavitt said Friday night: 'Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out. 'The president, the vice president, the secretary of state, will be waiting here in the United States for updates, and the vice president, I understand, is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it's a necessary use of his time.' The latest effort to broker a deal comes as an indefinite ceasefire has paused most fighting, but economic fallout is still mounting with global energy shipments disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.  Pakistan has been trying to get US and Iranian officials back to the table after Trump this week announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran, honoring Islamabad’s request for more time for diplomatic outreach. President Trump said on Friday that Iran was 'making an offer and we'll have to see', but did not state what the offer was.  Trump has also been adamant that any deal has to include Iran giving up its enriched uranium and the free traffic of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.  This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.