ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Senior Iranian officials left Pakistan on Saturday after downplaying the prospect of direct talks with U.S. officials on a deal to end the war, leaving the status of negotiations unclear.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that “the Iranians want to talk; they want to talk in person” when she announced that a U.S. delegation including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, would travel to Pakistan.
But on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the Iranian delegation that had arrived in Pakistan a day earlier was there for a bilateral visit only and was not planning to engage with the United States. “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S.,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in an X post. “Iran’s observations would be conveyed to Pakistan.”
The delegation, led by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left Pakistan on Saturday night local time for Oman, the second stop on a three-country tour that also includes Russia, according to an Iranian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
It’s unclear when the U.S. delegation will arrive in Pakistan, and the White House did not immediately respond Saturday to questions about whether the U.S. delegation was making the trip as planned.
Vice President JD Vance, who was present for the first round of talks in Pakistan this month, will not attend but could join later, Leavitt said Friday.
U.S. officials have said they are confident a meeting will happen. Leavitt said the administration hopes “positive developments will come from this meeting” and that “progress will be made.”
Also Friday, a U.S. official said while Iran had not made a public statement, Witkoff and Kushner had received confirmation from Tehran that Iranian officials would show up. “They wouldn’t go otherwise,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations.
During the meetings held Saturday, Araghchi met with Pakistan’s Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and presented them with Tehran’s “official stance” on ending the war, according to a report from Iranian state-run news agency Tasnim.
While talks this month marked a historic event, the most senior direct engagement between U.S. and Iranian officials since the 1979 revolution in Iran, the negotiations failed to secure a deal. Since then the two sides have remained in contact, but it’s unclear whether they have made progress bridging any of the gaps on key issues including Iran’s nuclear program and the future of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Pakistani leadership is trying their best for direct engagement between U.S. and Iran, but so far nothing is confirmed,” said a Pakistani official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive closed-door discussions.
While both the U.S. and Iran are willing to meet directly, the Pakistani official said, “issues need to be sorted out.” But, he said it’s “encouraging” that Iran and the U.S. have sent delegations to Pakistan at the same time.
The talks between Iranian and Pakistani officials Saturday were aimed at discussing “a framework for future talks,” according to a former Pakistani official close to the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
Some of the proposals from Tehran include Russia providing guarantees against further U.S. attacks and formalized joint Iranian-Omani control over the Strait of Hormuz. It’s unclear whether the United States is considering either proposal, the former official said.
The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran announced this month has largely held, despite an escalating standoff in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. has blockaded Iranian ports, and Iran is requiring vessels to obtain permission from Tehran to pass. Both Iran and the U.S. have seized vessels in the region.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s fuel transits. The strait’s closure has triggered a global energy crisis, with crippling shortages and price spikes impacting much of Asia and elsewhere.
Natalie Allison and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.
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