President Donald Trump canceled a planned trip by two of his envoys to Pakistan meant to facilitate peace talks with Iran nearly two months after the war began.
Trump administration Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Special Envoy for Peace Missions Jared Kushner were scheduled to travel Saturday morning to the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and participate in direct talks with an Iranian delegation. Trump, however, announced in a Saturday afternoon Truth Social post that he canceled the trip, stating it would be “[t]oo much time wasted on traveling, too much work!”
“Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their [the Iranians’] ‘leadership,’” the president added. “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
The White House referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to Trump’s Truth Social post when asked for comment.
About a half hour before Trump sent the post, Axios Global Affairs Correspondent Barak Ravid reported on X that Trump told him over the phone he had canceled Witkoff and Kushner’s trip “due to the Iranian position in the negotiations.”
Ravid wrote in a subsequent X post that Trump had told him, “I see no point of sending them on an 18 hour flight in the current situation [of the negotiations]. It’s too long.”
“We can do it just as well by telephone. The Iranians can call us if they want. We are not gonna travel just to sit there,” Trump told Ravid.
The president denied his nixing the flight was a sign he would continue the war in Iran when pressed by Ravid.
“No. It doesn’t mean that. We haven’t thought about it yet,” Trump responded.
Similarly, Trump had told Fox News White House Correspondent Aishah Hasnie in a phone call that he canceled the flight as his delegation was “getting ready to leave,” claiming the U.S. has “all the cards” in negotiations, Hasnie reported on X.
“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,” Trump told Hasnie.
There were signs the highly anticipated talks would not take place hours before reports of its cancellation circulated.
Ravid wrote in a Saturday morning X post, in Hebrew, that Wittkoff and Kushner were still in Miami, noting “It doesn’t seem like there’s any progress at this stage.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Friday that “Yes, I can confirm special envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be off to Pakistan again tomorrow morning to engage in talks, direct talks intermediated by the Pakistanis … with representatives from the Iranian delegation.”
Leavitt added the Iranians had “reached out” to the U.S. “as the president called on them to do and asked for this in-person conversation.”
“So, the president is dispatching Steve and Jared to go hear what they have to say and we’re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal,” she added at the time.
Wittkoff and Kushner previously traveled to Islamabad and took part in talks with an Iranian delegation on April 12.
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