USA Witkoff and Kushner travel to Pakistan for Iran talks
In the struggle to end the Iran war, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, are traveling to Pakistan for negotiations with Tehran's representatives, according to US reports. Both are flying out on Saturday morning (Washington local time), as US government spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News. The Iranians had asked to speak in person, she told reporters a short time later.
24.04.2026, 20:49
SDA
According to the broadcaster CNN and the news portal "Axios", the two US representatives are to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, he has already arrived in Islamabad. According to the agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards, there will be no negotiations in Islamabad.
Araghchi himself said on X that he wanted to coordinate with his Pakistani partners. Pakistani security sources said that Araghchi wanted to discuss a counter-proposal in the negotiations with the USA with the mediators. According to Tasnim, the foreign minister wants to present Iran's position on ending the war.
Leavitt: Vance remains in the USA for the time being, could travel later
According to CNN, US Vice President JD Vance is not traveling to Pakistan because Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf is not participating in the talks. Ghalibaf is seen in the White House as the head of the Iranian delegation and thus as Vance's counterpart, it was reported.
As far as she knows, Vance is prepared to travel to Pakistan if the US comes to the conclusion that this would be a sensible use of his time, Leavitt said. Like Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he would wait in the US for updates from the US delegation.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump unilaterally extended the ceasefire with Iran without a clear end. Shortly before this, Iran had rejected participation in further negotiations in Pakistan. Pakistan is mediating in the conflict. Negotiators from the conflicting parties had met in Islamabad for a first round of talks. This ended without result.
