World
Saturday's talks come as much of the world is on edge over a war that has snarled crucial energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz
By Associated Press Published: 2026-04-25T08:25:00+04:00 2 min read
Drone view of oil tanker Helga berthed at one of Iraq's southern offshore oil terminals near Basra. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump is sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday to continue talks with Iran, the White House said Friday.
The pair will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was heading to Pakistan on Friday for "bilateral consultations," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency confirmed. Vice President JD Vance will not be traveling, the White House said.
The trip to Pakistan comes as officials there have been trying to get the United States and Iran to a second round of ceasefire negotiations.
The Trump administration also announced it is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil. The move actualises the administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on entities that do business with Iran, an effort to cut off Iran's key source of revenue: its oil exports.
Shortly after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi touched down in Pakistan, his government made it clear that there would be no direct negotiations with American government representatives during this visit.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmael Baqaei said on X that "No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US". Instead, Baqaei said Pakistani officials would convey messages between the delegations.
Baqaei thanked the Pakistani government for its "ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression."
The White House said earlier Friday that its envoys would meet Araghchi.
The talks planned for Saturday come as much of the world is on edge over a war that has snarled crucial energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz, clouded the global economic picture and left thousands dead across the Middle East.