Witkoff and Kushner to travel to Pakistan for talks on Iran peace

A fresh diplomatic push is taking shape as US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner prepare to fly to Pakistan tomorrow morning for talks involving Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News this evening.

“I can confirm Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be off to Pakistan again tomorrow morning to engage in talks … with representatives from the Iranian delegation,” Ms Leavitt said.

Vice President JD Vance is not expected to join at this stage, but CNN, which first reported the travel plans, said he is on standby to head to Islamabad if the negotiations gain traction.

Two Pakistani government sources said an Iranian delegation arrived in Pakistan this evening.

Mr Trump, speaking to Reuters by phone, said Tehran was preparing to table a proposal intended to address US demands.

“They’re making an offer and we’ll have to see,” Mr Trump said during a phone interview.

On Tuesday, the US president extended a two-week ceasefire at the last moment, buying more time to bring negotiators back together.

Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are expected to travel to Pakistan (file pic)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had been expected in Islamabad today.

In a statement posted on X, Mr Araghchi said he was setting out for Pakistan, Oman and Russia to coordinate with partners on bilateral issues and consult on developments across the region, adding that Tehran continued to prioritise its neighbours.

Two Pakistani government sources familiar with the talks said Mr Araghchi’s stop in Islamabad would be brief and focused on Iran’s proposals for discussions with the US, which Pakistan, acting as mediator, would then pass on to Washington.

Coverage of Mr Araghchi’s trip in Iranian state media, along with the Pakistani accounts, made no reference to Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, who led Tehran’s delegation at the only round of talks held so far earlier this month.

Abbas Araghchi said he was embarking on visits to Pakistan, Oman and Russia

Pakistani sources had earlier said a US logistics and security team was already on the ground in Islamabad ahead of possible talks.

The previous round of peace negotiations had been due to take place on Tuesday but never materialised, with Iran saying it was not yet ready to commit to attending and a US delegation headed by Mr Vance ultimately remaining in Washington.

US blockade on Iran ‘going global’, says Hegseth

At the same time, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington’s blockade on Iran is expanding worldwide, while insisting Tehran still has an opportunity to strike what he called a “good deal” with the United States.

“Our blockade is growing and going global,” Mr Hegseth told reporters.

“No one sails from the Strait of Hormuz to anywhere in the world without the permission of the United States Navy,” he said.

Standing alongside top US General Dan Caine, Mr Hegseth said Washington was “not anxious” for an agreement with Iran and echoed Mr Trump’s earlier remark that the US had “all the time in the world”.

“Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely … at the negotiating table. All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways,” he said.

Watch: Hegseth criticises ‘silly’ European conference on Strait of Hormuz blockade

Mr Caine said US Central Command was continuing to enforce a strict blockade on all Iranian ports.

He said 34 ships had been turned back as of this morning, adding that the US military would keep interdicting Iranian vessels in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

“We’re enforcing the blockade across the board against any ship of any nationality that is transiting to or from an Iranian port or territory,” Mr Caine said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the European Union would be prepared to ease sanctions on Iran gradually if a comprehensive agreement is secured.

“The easing of sanctions can be part of a process,” said Mr Merz ‌at an EU summit in ⁠Nicosia.

“And no one ‌has objected to that,” he ⁠added.

“It ‌is, so to speak, part of the contribution ⁠we can make to advance this ⁠process and, hopefully, lead to a lasting ceasefire.”

Hezbollah says ceasefire ‘meaningless’ as fighting continues in south

In Lebanon, Hezbollah dismissed a US-mediated ceasefire with Israel as meaningless, one day after it was extended for three weeks, as Lebanese officials reported two people killed in an Israeli strike and the group said it had brought down an Israeli drone.

Mr Trump announced the three-week extension yesterday after welcoming Israel’s ambassador to Washington and Lebanon’s ambassador to the US to the White House. The ceasefire accord between the Lebanese and Israeli governments had been set to expire on Sunday.

Donald Trump hosted Israel’s ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter and Lebanese ambassador to the US Nada Moawad in the Oval Office

Although the truce has sharply reduced the level of fighting, Israel and Hezbollah have continued exchanging attacks in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces have maintained troops inside what they describe as a “buffer zone”.

Reacting to the extension, Hezbollah politician Ali Fayyad said, “it is essential to point out that the ceasefire is meaningless in light of Israel’s insistence on hostile acts, including assassinations, shelling, and gunfire” as well as the destruction of villages and towns in the south.

“Every Israeli attack … gives the resistance the right to a proportionate response,” he added.

Hezbollah is not a signatory to the ceasefire agreement and has strongly opposed Lebanon’s face-to-face contacts with Israel.

The 16 April agreement does not oblige Israeli forces to pull out of the strip of southern Lebanon captured during the war. That zone stretches 5-10km inside Lebanon.

A building is damaged in the Ain al-Mreisseh neighbourhood following Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon

Israel says the buffer zone is intended to shield northern Israel from Hezbollah attacks after the group fired hundreds of rockets during the war.

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel flared again on 2 March, when the group began firing in support of Iran in the wider regional conflict.

The Lebanon ceasefire took shape separately from Washington’s efforts to settle its confrontation with Tehran, although Iran had urged that Lebanon be folded into any broader truce.

The Lebanese health ministry says nearly 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon since 2 March.