Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Pakistani army commander Asim Munir, the Iranian embassy in Pakistan said in a post on Saturday. However, the fundamental issue for the whole world is whether there will be a meeting of representatives of the US and Iran and whether there is a chance for peace and cheaper oil.
“No meeting is planned between Iran and the United States. Iran's position will be communicated to Pakistan,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei wrote in a post on X on Friday evening. However, he stressed that the visit of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is related to Pakistan's mediation and attempts to restore peace in the Middle East region.
The Trump administration says otherwise
We could hear something different from US representatives. On the same Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan on Saturday morning to hold “direct talks” with their Iranian counterparts, writes CNBC.
“The Iranians reached out” and asked to speak in person, as President Donald Trump had requested, Leavitt said on Fox News.
“The president is sending Steve and Jared to hear what they have to say. We hope it will be a fruitful conversation and that we will be able to get closer to an agreement,” she added.
According to her, Vice President JD Vance, who led the previous US delegation to Islamabad for the initial round of negotiations with Iran, will not take part in the talks this weekend.
Trump, in an interview with Reuters, said on Friday that Iran “will make an offer,” adding that he does not know yet what it will be and “we will have to see.”
Pakistan intermediary
As Leavitt said in an interview on Fox, the talks in Islamabad “will be mediated by the Pakistanis.” It is therefore possible that although there will be no direct meeting, talks will take place through the Pakistanis. This shows that Iran is committed to tough negotiations and does not intend to give up.
The first round of peace talks held two weeks ago in Islamabad, led by Vance from the US side, ended with no agreement.
The U.S. delegation, which included Vance, was expected to return to Pakistan earlier this week for further negotiations, but the trip was delayed because Iranian officials reportedly said they would not show up.
Most of the mutual tensions center on the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil transport route where traffic has dropped significantly due to threats from Iran and a retaliatory U.S. naval blockade since last week.
Trump said in an interview with Reuters that the US would not lift the blockade of Iranian ports until an agreement was reached.
