“They Can Call Us”. Trump Scraps Second Round Of Islamabad Talks As Iran Leaves Pakistan Without A Deal
The second round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad is dead before it even started.
President Trump announced Saturday he has cancelled plans to send special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan, posting that there was “too much time wasted on traveling, too much work” and citing what he called “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership. (CNBC)
The cancellation came in real time. About an hour after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad without committing to meet the US delegation, Trump pulled the plug. Within ten minutes of the cancellation, Trump claimed Iran sent a new and significantly improved proposal — but still not enough. (NPR)
Araghchi had met with Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, sharing what he described as Iran’s red lines, including the lifting of the US naval blockade as a precondition for any meaningful talks. (CNN)
Trump confirmed the cancellation does not mean a resumption of the war, adding that future negotiations would be handled over the phone. (The Times of Israel)
Araghchi has since landed in Muscat, Oman, continuing a three stop diplomatic tour that will also include Moscow. (The Hill)
Pakistan tried. The table was set. Nobody sat down.
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