April 24 (UPI) — Talks with Iran are set to resume with special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner heading to Pakistan on Saturday to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the White House confirmed Friday.
Iranian state news agency IRNA said that no meeting has been scheduled, Axios reported.
“The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person, and the president is always willing to give diplomacy a chance,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday.
“We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive development will come from this meeting. We have certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last few days.”
Araghchi landed in Islamabad on Friday night for talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir, Axios reported.
A Pakistani official told Axios that the meeting was expected to focus on relaunching negotiations with the Trump administration.
“A trilateral meeting with the U.S. will be assessed after our meeting with Araghchi,” the Pakistani official said.
“We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days. Again, the president has made the decision to send Steve [Witkoff] and Jared [Kushner] to hear the Iranians out, and so we’ll see what they have to say this weekend,” Leavitt said about the potential for a peace deal.
Araghchi is scheduled to travel from Islamabad to Muscat, Oman, and then on to Moscow, Axios said. It’s not clear when he will meet with Witkoff and Kushner. Two sources told Axios that the meeting could happen Monday, after Kushner and Witkoff have talks with Pakistani mediators.
Vice President JD Vance will not travel to Pakistan for these meetings.
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