President Donald Trump is sending his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan, the White House said Friday, just hours after Iran’s top diplomat headed to the South Asian nation where officials have been trying to get the US and Iran to convene for a second round of ceasefire negotiations.
The trip comes as much of the world is on edge over a war that has snarled crucial energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz, clouded the global economic picture and left thousands dead across West Asia.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview on Fox News Channel that the two will have talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday. “We’re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward to a deal,” Leavitt said.
But shortly after Araghchi touched down in Pakistan, his government made it clear that there would be no direct negotiations with American government representatives during this visit. Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmael Baqaei said on X that “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US.” Instead, Baqaei said Pakistani officials would convey messages between the delegations.
Baqaei thanked the Pakistani government for its “ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression.”
Leavitt said Vice-President J.D. Vance would not be travelling but that he remains “deeply involved.” She said he will be in the US, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president’s national security team, on “standby” to fly to Pakistan “if necessary”.
Pakistan has been trying to get US and Iranian officials back to the table after Trump this week announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran, honouring Islamabad’s request for more time for diplomatic outreach.
West Asia war | Live updates
9.30 am: Tensions linger in Lebanon despite extended truce
The situation in Lebanon remained tense a day after Trump announced Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks. Hezbollah has not participated in the diplomacy brokered by Washington.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video statement released by his office on Friday, hailed “a process to achieve a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon”. Earlier, the Israeli army asked residents of the southern Lebanese village of Deir Aames to evacuate, saying Hezbollah was using the village to launch attacks against Israel.
Israel’s military said it downed a drone over Lebanon following the launch of a small surface-to-air missile by Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group, meanwhile, said it shot down an Israeli drone with a surface-to-air missile over the outskirts of the southern port city of Tyre.
8.00 am: Strait remains choked
The possibility of negotiations hasn’t lowered tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped during peacetime.
Iran has kept its stranglehold on traffic through the strait, attacking three ships earlier this week, while the US is maintaining a blockade on Iranian ports and Trump has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small boats that could be placing mines.
“Iran has an important choice, a chance to make a deal, a good deal, a wise deal,” US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters Friday. He said a second US aircraft carrier will join the blockade in a few days.
Pleased to receive and welcome my brother, Foreign Minister of Iran, H. E. Abbas Araghchi @Araghchi, to Islamabad, alongside Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
Look forward to our meaningful engagements aimed at promoting regional peace and… pic.twitter.com/XHrqXijgqx
— Ishaq Dar (@MIshaqDar50) April 24, 2026
We arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan, for an official visit. FM Araghchi will be meeting with Pakistani high-level officials in concert with their ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression and the restitution of peace in our region.
No meeting… pic.twitter.com/1vP51xIoep
— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) April 24, 2026
Washington already has three aircraft carriers in the region; the USS George H.W. Bush in the Indian Ocean; the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea; and the USS Gerald R. Ford in the Red Sea.
It is the first time since 2003 that three American carriers have been operating in the region simultaneously. The force includes 200 aircraft and 15,000 sailors and Marines, US Central Command said.