Trump scraps envoy trip as Iran talks continue through Pakistan mediators

Trump’s sudden cancellation of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner’s trip to Islamabad turned Pakistan’s mediation into a test of whether U.S.-Iran diplomacy still had any credibility left. Abbas Araghchi was expected back in Pakistan on Sunday, April 26, even after Trump said there was no point in “sitting around talking about nothing” and claimed there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” inside Iran’s leadership.

The White House had said Witkoff and Kushner would travel to Islamabad for direct talks, but Trump scrapped the trip on Saturday, saying Iran had improved its proposal after he canceled the visit, though not enough. Iranian officials said no meeting was planned between Iranian and U.S. negotiators in Pakistan, and that Tehran’s views would be carried through Pakistani mediators instead. That left Pakistan, not Washington or Tehran, as the main channel trying to keep the process from collapsing into a public blame game.

Araghchi had already met Pakistan’s Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad before traveling on to Oman. Iranian officials said other members of the delegation returned to Tehran to consult and obtain instructions, a sign that neither side was ready to commit fully while the terms remained unsettled. The latest round followed failed talks in Islamabad on April 11 and 12 that lasted about 21 hours and ended without agreement, with both sides blaming each other.

The stakes remained high because the ceasefire tied to the wider conflict was set to expire on April 22, while pressure mounted over Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. demands that Tehran give assurances it would not pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran’s counterproposal reportedly called for Iranian control over the strait, an end to the war and compensation for damage. Those positions left little room for quick progress, and Trump’s canceled trip only made the restart harder.

Pakistan’s role mattered because it was the only venue still carrying messages between the two capitals as international mediators tried to keep the channel open. A real truce track would show up in direct, scheduled contact, a clear next round, and narrowed positions on the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear issue. Diplomatic theater would look like what followed Trump’s cancellation: alternating statements, no meeting in Pakistan and another round of delays while the truce clock kept running down.