Trump Cancels Aides’ Trip for Iran Talks, Saying, ‘We Have aAl the Cards.’

THE NEW YORK TIMES: President Trump on Saturday called off a trip by two of his top negotiators to Islamabad, Pakistan, just before they were set to leave for talks about a potential deal to end the war in Iran.

“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. We have all the cards,’” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “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.”

Steve Witkoff, the special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, had been scheduled to travel to Pakistan on Saturday, along with top aides to Vice President JD Vance. Officials in Pakistan have been mediating between the United States and Iran to try to end more than a month of war in the Middle East.

The cancellation of the trip is the latest sign that Iran and the United States are far from reaching a deal to end the war. A previous trip to Islamabad by Mr. Vance proved unsuccessful, and the Americans appear no closer to achieving the administration’s political goals, including convincing Iran to turn over its nuclear stockpile and curtail its future program. The two sides are also locked in a stalemate over control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply flows.

Mr. Trump’s decision came after Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, who had been in Islamabad for talks with Pakistani officials, left the country and traveled to Oman. No direct meetings had been scheduled with U.S. officials.

After leaving Islamabad, Mr. Araghchi said in a social media post that he had shared with Pakistani officials Iran’s position on a “workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran.” He did not give details of the latest proposal. “Have yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy,” he added. » | Luke Broadwater | Saturday, April 25, 2026

Kushner and Witkoff to Talk With Iranian Officials in Pakistan

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, will also be in Islamabad this weekend, and Iranian officials said he planned to meet with the two Americans.

Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, two of the United States’ lead negotiators in peace talks with Iran, will travel to Pakistan on Saturday to hold discussions with Iranian officials, an administration spokeswoman said. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, also arrived in Islamabad, according to Iranian state media, and Iranian officials said he planned to meet with the two U.S. representatives.

“Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said on Friday afternoon. “We hope progress will be made,” she said, adding that “the president, the vice president, the secretary of state will be waiting here in the United States for updates.”

The Iranian foreign minister plans to present a new written response to a U.S. proposal for a peace deal, according to two senior Iranian officials familiar with the trip who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters.

President Trump announced an extension of the cease-fire in the war on Iran earlier this week. While that halted an all-out bombardment of Iran and Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Israel and Gulf countries, the war has morphed into a costly standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil and gas conduit. Both the United States and Iran are blocking the transit of ships through the waterway in an effort to gain leverage in any peace talks.

The news of the scheduled meeting in Pakistan came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ships and ports would continue for “as long as it takes” to get Iran to agree to a deal. Iranian leaders have made lifting the blockade a condition of resuming peace talks with Washington.

Many sticking points remain between the two sides, chief among them the status of the strait and Iran’s nuclear program. The last U.S.-Iran negotiations took place in mid-April in Islamabad and ended with no agreement. Iran War Live Updates » | Luke Broadwater, Helene Cooper, John Ismay, Farnaz Fassihi and Max Bearak | Reporting from Washington and New York | Friday, April 24, 2026

We can all relax now, then, knowing that Witkoff and Kushner are being sent to Pakistan to deal with those pesky Iranian officials! Between them, they have a wealth of diplomatic experience to draw on to sort out any problems they will encounter! At this rate, the war will be over in no time! 😊

Guerre en Ukraine: «aucun compromis» sur les territoires occupés après une rencontre entre Poutine et Witkoff à Moscou

LE FIGARO : Les discussions menées au Kremlin n’ont pas permis d’avancer sur l’enjeu territorial au cœur du conflit. Les deux parties saluent un échange constructif, mais les divergences sont toujours présentes alors que les forces russes poursuivent leur progression sur le front.

«Aucun compromis» n'a été trouvé mardi sur l'épineuse question des territoires occupés par la Russie en Ukraine après une rencontre à Moscou entre le président Vladimir Poutine et l'émissaire américain Steve Witkoff, qui lui présentait le plan de Washington pour mettre fin à près de quatre ans de guerre en Ukraine.

Steve Witkoff, accompagné du gendre du président américain, Jared Kushner, s'est entretenu pendant près de cinq heures au Kremlin avec le dirigeant russe à propos de ce plan présenté par Washington il y a deux semaines et depuis retravaillé lors de consultations avec les Ukrainiens. «Nous avons pu nous mettre d'accord sur certains points (...), d'autres ont suscité des critiques, mais l'essentiel est qu'une discussion constructive ait eu lieu et que les parties aient déclaré leur volonté de poursuivre leurs efforts», a indiqué le conseiller diplomatique du Kremlin, Iouri Ouchakov. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | mercredi 3 décembre 2025

US-Gesandter auf Putins Seite? | DW Nachrichten

Nov 28, 2025 | Der US-Sondergesandte und Trump-Freund Steve Witkoff gerät wegen mutmaßlicher Russlandnähe in die Kritik. Ein geleaktes Telefonat mit Putins Berater Juri Uschakow enthüllt brisante Details: Witkoff spricht von „tiefstem Respekt“ für Putin und deutet einen Ukraine-Deal an. Die Journalistin Anne Applebaum warnt vor den Folgen – und sieht Verflechtungen: Verhandelt werde nicht nur über Frieden, sondern auch über Öl, Gas und Mineralien.

Trump Is ‘No Friend’ to Ukraine as Europe ‘Steps Up’ to Take Down Putin | Sir Bill Browder

Nov 28, 2025 | Sir Bill Browder joins Times Radio’s Maddie Hale to discuss the latest developments on Ukrainian land concession discussions, why the progression of the war puts Vladimir Putin’s life at stake and The New York Times details the timeline of European officials finding out the United States had left them out of a peace plan proposal.

Leaked Witkoff Call Favours Russia in Ukraine Peace Plan Negotiations with Kremlin Official.

Nov 27, 2025 | A major diplomatic crisis has erupted after an audio recording was leaked, revealing US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff coaching a senior Russian official on how to negotiate a peace deal with Donald Trump—including suggesting Ukraine cede territory. The revelation has led to fury in Congress, with some lawmakers calling Witkoff a "traitor" who favors Russian interests, while President Trump defends the move as "standard negotiation."

ANTHONY DAVIS can be supported on Patreon here.

With a name like Witkoff, what should we expect? Perhaps Witkoff would prefer a position in the Kremlin. — © Mark Alexander

Wut in Europa über Witkoffs Ukraine-Plan zu russischen Staatsgeldern

BERLINER ZEITUNG: Witkoffs Vorschlag, eingefrorene russische Gelder für amerikanische Projekte zu nutzen, lässt europäische Diplomaten aufkochen. Brüssel fürchtet, am Ende leer auszugehen.

In europäischen Hauptstädten kocht die Stimmung über. Mitten in der heikelsten Phase der EU-Verhandlungen über den Umgang mit eingefrorenen russischen Staatsgeldern hat Donald Trumps Sondergesandter Steve Witkoff einen Plan präsentiert, den europäische Diplomaten übereinstimmenden Medienberichten nur noch als „Provokation“ bezeichnen.

Monatelang ringen die EU-Mitgliedstaaten darum, einen legal tragfähigen Weg zu finden, rund 140 Milliarden Euro russischer Vermögenswerte, die größtenteils bei Euroclear in Belgien liegen, zur Unterstützung der Ukraine zu verwenden. Die Zeit drängt nämlich: Kiew könnte im kommenden Jahr ohne frische Finanzhilfen zahlungsunfähig werden. Spekulationen zufolge soll das Geld im März oder April 2026 zu Ende gehen.

Doch aus Washington kommt nun ein Vorschlag, der den gesamten europäischen Ansatz aushebeln könnte. Laut dem 28-Punkte-Plan der Trump-Administration sollen dieselben Gelder für amerikanisch geführte Wiederaufbauprojekte nach einem Waffenstillstand genutzt werden. Die USA würden 50 Prozent der daraus entstehenden Profite erhalten. » | Nicolas Butylin | Samstag, 22. November 2025

Vladimir Putin Meets Trump's US Envoy Steve Witkoff at Kremlin | BBC News

Aug 6, 2025 | A meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Russia's Vladimir Putin is under way at the Kremlin, Russian media has said.

Witkoff arrived in Moscow on Wednesday as President Donald Trump's deadline for Russia to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine looms.

The US president has said Russia could face hefty sanctions or see secondary sanctions imposed against all those who trade with it if it doesn't take steps to end the "horrible war" with Ukraine.


More EMPTY words from Trump. Trump will do precisely NOTHING! Remember when Trump said that he was going to stop the Russo-Ukrainian War within 24 hours? And what became of that promise? Precisely NOTHING! And so it will be with this promise. It's all just hot air. — © Mark Alexander

Steve Witkoff Is a ‘Kremlin Lover’ | Andrew Neil

Mar 24, 2025 | “One is just a busted flush mad American broadcaster, but the other is the president's special envoy and he knows nothing about what he's talking about.”

The interview between Tucker Carlson and US special envoy Steve Witkoff showed them both to be “Kremlin lovers,” says Times Radio’s Andrew Neil.


The quicker the world turns its back on America, the better! America is no longer a serious player which can be trusted. – © Mark Alexander