Iran War Live Updates: Trump Calls Off Witkoff and Kushner’s Travel to Pakistan for Peace Talks
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
President Trump on Saturday called off a trip by two of his top negotiators to Islamabad, Pakistan, just before they were set to leave for talks about a potential deal to end the war in Iran.
“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,’” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “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.”
Steve Witkoff, the special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, had been scheduled to travel to Pakistan on Saturday, along with top aides to Vice President JD Vance. Officials in Pakistan have been mediating between the United States and Iran to try to end more than a month of war in the Middle East.
The cancellation of the trip is the latest sign that Iran and the United States are far from reaching a deal to end the war. A previous trip to Islamabad by Mr. Vance proved unsuccessful, and the Americans appear no closer to achieving the administration’s political goals, including convincing Iran to turn over its nuclear stockpile and curtail its future program. The two sides are also locked in a stalemate over control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply flows.
Mr. Trump’s decision came after Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who had been in Islamabad for talks with Pakistani officials, left the country and traveled to Oman. No direct meetings had been scheduled with U.S. officials.
After leaving Islamabad, Mr. Araghchi said in a social media post that he had shared with Pakistani officials Iran’s position on a “workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran.” He did not give details of the latest proposal. “Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy,” he added.
Earlier this week, Mr. Trump unilaterally extended a cease-fire between the United States and Iran that was about to expire, saying he wanted to give Tehran a chance to come up with a new proposal to end the war.
In a Truth Social post on his decision, the president repeated his contention that the Iranian government was divided and argued those disagreements were complicating talks. “There is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,’” he said. “Nobody knows who is in charge including them.” Several top Iranian officials put out statements on Thursday denying the country’s leaders were divided .
The United States recently transmitted a written proposal to the Iranians intended to establish points of agreement that could frame more detailed negotiations. The document covers a broad range of issues, but the core sticking points are the same ones that have bedeviled Western negotiators for more than a decade: the scope of Iran’s uranium enrichment program and the fate of its stockpile of enriched uranium.
The American military has displayed its overwhelming might during the war, successfully striking thousands of targets. But Iran’s theocratic regime, even after its top leaders were killed, has remained in power and has asserted tight control over the Strait of Hormuz, limiting shipping, driving up the price of oil and shaking the world economy.
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All the pyrrhic winning has muted the proverbial fat lady and she so wanted to sing Send in the Clowns.
The clowns are already there.
The song ends with "don't bother they're here".
Trump is playing ten dimensional chess
He is clearly playing a game that is well beyond his capabilities.
My 12-year-old is in chess club in middle school, and I can guarantee there isn't student in her club that couldn't beat the snot out of Trump in chess. I doubt he even knows how each piece moves, he's that fucking stupid and yet he's sending out soldiers to the battlefield to die. I will never forgive those who enabled and voted for this disaster of a President and I'm sure the parents of those soldiers who have died already in Trumps feckless war feel the same way.
It kinda looks like he doesn't know what he's doing...
Kinda...
Whatever trump does, the posts would be the exact same. It’s just knee jerk trump derangement.
Criticism of Trump is almost always for justifiable cause.
What is predictable is that you, et.al., will step in to deflect, attempt to defend him, or (as you have done here) make a vague, exaggerated, dishonest admonishment of his critics.
Just like the posts about the correspondence dinner that hasn't taken place are probably already written trashing trump.
I will 'honor' that request. It has crossed my mind as to why this Correspondence Dinner and not the others. . . and then I remembered. . .President Obama did a correspondence dinner (2011). . . with Trump president and the jokes about him flew. So, let us imagine together what (never to be outdone) Trump has prepared to show us as a correspondence dinner 'encore.' Iran highly probably ought to 'batten down' and sleep lightly for now!
And no, I am not a party to the 'prediction market'! /s
No one suffers more from TDS than Trump himself and his cabinet.
Why would someone act erratic unless they cant help themselves?
Whatever trump does, the posts would be the exact same. It’s just knee jerk trump derangement.
Your self analysis is surprisingly accurate. Baby steps.
Exactly. No matter what he does his lazy stupid rightwing conservative base have the same useless reaction where they deflect, deny and lie on behalf of their dear Leader. He could shoot someone on the street, in person, not even having his Gestapo do it, and his supporters would have the same limp impotent reaction. I guess just knowing that Trump loves them is enough reward.