WASHINGTON (Realist English). US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan on 25 April for talks with Iran, the White House said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is already in Pakistan to meet with mediators, but his ministry denied that a direct meeting with the Americans is planned — the latest instance of conflicting signals from Washington and Tehran.
White House: ‘We see some progress’
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration “sees some progress” from Iran. “Everyone will be on standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary,” she said.
Pentagon: ‘This is much more their fight than ours’
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on 24 April sharply criticized European allies, stating that the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz “is much more their fight than ours.” “The time for free-riding is over,” he added, urging allies to take a larger role in securing the strait.
Iran: ‘No meeting is planned’
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that no meeting between Iranian and US negotiators is planned in Pakistan. “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the United States. Iran’s observations will be conveyed to Pakistan,” Baghaei said.
He added that Foreign Minister Araghchi is in Pakistan to meet with Pakistani officials “in concert with their ongoing mediation and good offices for ending the American-imposed war of aggression and the restitution of peace in our region.”
Baghaei’s statement added yet another mixed signal to a week full of uncertainty over the status of peace negotiations. The White House had earlier said that Kushner and Witkoff would travel to Pakistan on 25 April for direct talks with the Iranians.
Uncertainty is nothing new
Such contradictory statements are not uncommon. In late March, Donald Trump reported “productive conversations” with Iran, while Tehran denied any contacts with the United States. The same day, an Iranian source acknowledged that “outreach” had taken place and said Iran was willing to listen to “suitable” proposals.
In early April, the US held high-stakes talks with Iran in Pakistan that ended without an agreement. A few days later, Iranian state media reported that there were no plans for another round of negotiations, despite what it called “claims by some Pakistani sources or Western media about holding the next round of Islamabad talks.”
Trump: ‘Iran is making an offer’
President Donald Trump said on 24 April that Iran will make an offer to America, but he does not know what it is. “They’re making an offer, and we’ll have to see,” Trump said in a phone interview with Reuters, adding that he did not yet know the details.
Asked who exactly the US is negotiating with in Iran, Trump replied: “I don’t want to say that, but we’re dealing with the people who are in charge now.”
Just a day earlier, Trump suggested that uncertainty around Iran’s leadership was complicating talks. “They’re delaying it because we don’t know who to deal with,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on 23 April. “They know who the leader is in this country. We don’t know who the leader is in Iran.”
Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah after ceasefire extension
Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters continued to target each other throughout the day on 24 April — one day after a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was announced.
In the southern Lebanese towns of Yater and Kafra, the Israel Defense Forces said it struck Hezbollah rocket launchers that “posed a threat to IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians.”
Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli armored personnel carrier in Ramyah, southern Lebanon. The group said the attack was “in response” to Israel’s destruction of homes in southern Lebanon, which Hezbollah called a “violation of the ceasefire.”
President Trump announced the ceasefire extension on 23 April. Since then, each side has accused the other of violating the truce.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue striking “any threat” in Lebanon. The terms of the ceasefire agreement stipulate that Israel has the right to take “all necessary measures in self-defense.”
Meanwhile, Hezbollah said the agreement “has no meaning” due to continued Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory.