US, Iran hold talks in Islamabad
- President Donald Trump scrapped plans to send Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad as Pakistan tried to host fresh U.S.-Iran diplomacy, leaving the latest mediation push without direct talks. - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi went ahead with meetings in Islamabad, but Tehran said no U.S. meeting was scheduled and rejected what an Iranian source called Washington’s “maximalist demands.” - The aborted Islamabad round followed direct U.S.-Iran talks there on April 11 and a fragile ceasefire after the February 28 war began. (reuters.com)
President Donald Trump called off plans to send Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad, halting the latest U.S. push for talks with Iran in Pakistan’s capital. (yahoo.com) Pakistan had spent days preparing for a second round of diplomacy, with security tightened around Islamabad’s Serena Hotel and other official sites. Reuters reported the White House had earlier said Witkoff and Kushner would travel on April 26. (usnews.com) (yahoo.com) Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi still traveled to Islamabad and met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other Pakistani officials. Tehran said in advance that no meeting with U.S. representatives was on the agenda and that Iran’s views would be passed through Pakistan. (usnews.com) (presstv.ir) The immediate dispute was over terms. An Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters that Tehran would not accept “maximalist demands,” while U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran still had a chance to make a “good deal” by abandoning a nuclear weapon in “meaningful and verifiable ways.” (usnews.com) (state.gov) The Islamabad effort matters because it was supposed to build on direct U.S.-Iran talks that did happen there on April 11. National Public Radio, via Oregon Public Broadcasting, reported that Vice President JD Vance led the American side in that earlier session, which Pakistan mediated after weeks of shuttle diplomacy. (opb.org) Those negotiations have unfolded during a ceasefire that Reuters described as already in force but still fragile. The broader war began with U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28, and Reuters said the conflict has killed thousands and pushed energy prices to multi-year highs. (usnews.com) Washington’s public position has stayed hard. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 30 that Iran must take “demonstrable steps” to end any ambition for nuclear weapons, and the State Department has continued rolling out Iran-related sanctions in April. (state.gov 1) (state.gov 2) Pakistan’s role has expanded even as the substance remains stuck. Islamabad helped broker the ceasefire and offered itself as the venue for more talks, but by April 26 the city had the security cordons and foreign delegations without the direct U.S.-Iran meeting it was preparing to host. (opb.org) (yahoo.com)
