After a day-long visit to Pakistan, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has left, prior to the arrival of a U.S. delegation, say Pakistani officials.
The White House had earlier confirmed that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan Saturday for a new round of peace talks.
But according to a post on his Truth Social account, Trump has said he was now canceling the U.S. delegation's Saturday trip. This decision, first reported by Fox News, came just minutes after Pakistani officials said Iran's Foreign Minister had left Islamabad.
Araghchi had arrived Friday in the capital Islamabad, where Pakistan had hosted direct U.S.-Iran talks earlier this month. His spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, had denied that a direct meeting with the U.S. was planned.
This handout photo released by the Iranian foreign ministry shows Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (L) greeting his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Islamabad on April 24, 2026.
This handout photo released by the Iranian foreign ministry shows Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (L) greeting his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi upon his arrival in Islamabad on April 24, 2026.
"Iran's observations would be conveyed to Pakistan," he wrote on X.
The news of U.S. and Iranian officials planned travel to Pakistan had come the same day that Israel's military said it attacked southern Lebanon, targeting sites it says belong to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The militant group also fired rockets into Israel.
That was despite President Trump's announcement that Israel and Lebanon agreed during White House talks Thursday to extend the ceasefire by three weeks. Hezbollah was not involved in the negotiations and has opposed them.
The shaky Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is linked to broader U.S. efforts to draw its war with Iran to a close. Tehran has insisted that the fighting in Lebanon remain paused as a precondition for further peace talks with the United States.
Trump had unilaterally extended the ceasefire with Iran earlier this week, hours before it was set to expire, without indicating a new expiration date.
Iran has dismissed that extension as "meaningless," saying the continued U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports is a violation of the deal and that the Iranian delegation will not return to the negotiating table until the blockade is lifted.
According to Fox News, President Trump has told one of their reporters he was canceling the U.S. delegation's planned trip to Islamabad today. This came minutes after Pakistani officials said Iran's Foreign Minister had left Islamabad.
But Friday White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, had said on Fox News that President Trump was dispatching Witkoff and Kushner to Islamabad "to go hear" what the Iranians have to say.
"We're hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal," she had said, adding that the Iranians asked for the talks.
