President Donald Trump has abruptly cancelled a planned visit by American representatives to Islamabad, Pakistan, for scheduled meetings with Iranian officials. The move came after Iran said that no talks were planned with the US in Pakistan.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote: “I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going is Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians. Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’ Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
Before the post, the president told Fox News that U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will no longer be heading to Pakistan for talks with Iran. He said that it’s not worth the U.S. delegation making the 18-hour flight to Pakistan when the U.S. holds all the cards in the conflict with Iran. He added that the Iranians can call the U.S. at any time they want.
Trump said, “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. 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.”
Notably, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived at Islamabad in Pakistan late last night with a senior delegation, reportedly for talks with the US delegation. However, he left Pakistan today before the cancellation of the visit by the US. He had met with Pakistani army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the visit.
The decision by Trump signals a hardening of the US position amid ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve tensions with Iran. It follows a series of public remarks by the president in recent weeks concerning military operations in the region, the Strait of Hormuz, and negotiations with what he has described as a “new, and more reasonable, regime” in Tehran.
Trump’s latest message suggests frustration with the failure of the talks with Iran and apparent disarray on the Iranian side. He stated that any future dialogue should be initiated directly rather than through intermediaries in Pakistan.
