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Delegation should negotiate peaceTrump is not sending Witkoff to Pakistan
US President Donald Trump. (archive image)
picture alliance / Consolidated News Photos / WILL OLIVER
It was only on Friday that the White House announced that a US delegation would travel to Pakistan for talks to resolve the conflict with Iran – now things are different.
There is another setback in the struggle to end the Iran war: According to media reports, US President Donald Trump has initially canceled the trip to Pakistan of his special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The US broadcaster Fox News quoted Trump as saying that he told his delegation not to fly. Axios reporter Barak Ravid also wrote on Platform
“I told my people recently they were getting ready to leave and I said, 'No, you're not going to take an 18-hour flight to go there,'” Fox News quoted the US president as saying. The USA held all the trump cards. “You can call us any time, but you're not going to take 18-hour flights to sit around and talk about nothing,” Trump said.
Shortly beforehand, Pakistani security circles said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had left Islamabad again without meeting US representatives.
Which was actually planned
Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced on Friday that Kushner and Witkoff would leave for Pakistan on Saturday morning (Washington time). The Iranians had asked to speak personally, she emphasized.
Araghchi arrived in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Friday evening. However, Iran rejected the White House's statement: Foreign Office spokesman Ismail Baghai said that no meeting was planned with the American side – only the Pakistani mediators would be spoken to.
This Saturday, according to the state broadcaster Irib, Araghchi first met the Pakistani army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, in Islamabad, who plays a key role in the mediation to end the war. Araghchi later also spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif, his office said.
What the US cancellation means
The fact that the US representatives are not even arriving underlines how difficult it currently is to hold diplomatic talks between the US and Iran.
Trump unilaterally extended the ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday without specifying a clear end. Shortly before, Iran had refused to take part in further negotiations in Pakistan. Iran's neighboring country is mediating in the conflict.
Negotiators from the conflicting parties met in Islamabad two weeks ago for a first direct round of talks – but they ended without a result. The main points of contention between the USA and Iran are the Iranian nuclear program and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. (dpa/sfu)
Source used: dpa
