Witkoff, Kushner to Meet Iran FM Despite Tehran Denial
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- White House announced Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan on Saturday to negotiate with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, an effort to "break the stalemate and build momentum for a deal before Trump goes back to exploring military options."
- Iranian state media pushed back publicly: IRNA reported no meeting had been scheduled, and Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Tasnim denied any direct talks were planned at the moment.
- Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday night for meetings with Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif, FM Ishaq Dar, and Field Marshal Asim Munir; a Pakistani official said a trilateral with the US "will be assessed after our meeting with Araghchi."
- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters "The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person and the president is always willing to give diplomacy a chance," citing "some progress from the Iranian side in the last few days."
- Vice President JD Vance will not make the trip because his Iranian counterpart, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, won't travel with Araghchi; a source said Ghalibaf grew frustrated with infighting in the Iranian leadership and even threatened to resign as lead negotiator.
- Trump spoke to the Qatari emir on Friday about the ceasefire, with Qatar also pushing for a deal; Vance's chief of staff and other team members will join Witkoff and Kushner in Pakistan, with Vance on standby for phone calls and possible travel if talks progress.
- Two sources said the US-Iran meeting could take place Monday after bilateral talks with Pakistani mediators, but Araghchi is expected to leave Islamabad for Muscat and then Moscow, leaving timing uncertain.
Why it matters: The Pakistan mission is the clearest move yet to break a stalled negotiation under an extended US-Iran ceasefire, and Axios reports its explicit purpose is to build momentum "before Trump goes back to exploring military options." But Iran's public denial of the meeting and reports that Ghalibaf — Tehran's lead negotiator — threatened to step aside over internal infighting show the Iranian side is fractured and may not deliver a counterpart willing to deal.
