Trump Cancels Pakistan Iran Talks After Araghchi Exit

President Donald Trump on Saturday canceled the planned travel of U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for a new round of Iran talks, just hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad without committing to meet the American team. The reversal collapses what had looked Friday like a path toward a fresh diplomatic breakthrough on day 57 of the 2026 Iran war.

A 24-Hour Diplomatic Collapse

According to Axios, CNN, NPR, the Washington Post and Bloomberg, Araghchi met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad on Saturday and delivered Tehran's list of demands before leaving the country. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated on X that "no meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US," ruling out direct contact during the Pakistan stop.

About an hour after Araghchi's departure, Trump told Fox News he had pulled the U.S. delegation back. "I've told my people a little while ago, they were getting ready to leave, and I said, 'Nope, you're not making an 18 hour flight to go there,'" the president said.

"We Have All the Cards"

Trump added that "we have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing." He also cited "tremendous infighting and confusion within their leadership" as a reason to call off the trip.

The core impasse remains the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. Tehran has set the lifting of the blockade as a precondition for talks, while Washington has ruled this out, leaving negotiators with no immediate way to bridge the gap.

A Reversal From Friday

The cancellation marks a sharp reversal from Friday's optimism, when the White House had confirmed that Witkoff and Kushner were preparing to travel and Pakistani officials spoke of a possible breakthrough. According to Euronews and Al Jazeera, Araghchi met with Pakistani officials but ruled out direct contact with U.S. negotiators during the visit.