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President Donald Trump is dispatching U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday in a push to revive peace talks with Iran after diplomatic roadblocks earlier this week. “We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday. “The president has made the decision to send Steve and Jared to hear the Iranians out, and so we’ll see what they have to say this weekend.” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad late Friday, but he is not expected to speak directly with the American delegation. Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said Pakistani officials will relay messages between the two sides. “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S,” Baqaei said on X.Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran earlier this week at the request of Pakistani mediators, though tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have tested the agreement. The U.S. continues to ramp up economic pressure by blocking Iranian ports, and the president has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” any small Iranian boats deploying mines in the strategic waterway for oil shipments. The timeline for clearing mines and securing the strait could impact how quickly fuel prices fall. The Pentagon reportedly told lawmakers in a classified briefing that the process could take six months, according to The Associated Press and The Washington Post. “We would not speculate on a timeline. I saw that report. It was based on another leak from a closed-door session, which was supposed to be classified, and apparently, allegedly, that was something that was said,” Hegseth told reporters. “We feel confident in our ability, in the correct period of time, to clear any mines that we identify.”Hegseth urged other countries to get involved in the effort and dismissed a conference of European nations on strategies to reopen the strait as “silly.” “Those are not serious efforts yet. We would welcome that. We would welcome a serious European effort to do something about this strait and this passage, considering it’s their energy capabilities that are most at stake,” Hegseth said. On Saturday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his country plans to deploy minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean, which may ultimately be sent to the Strait, pending approval from parliament.
President Donald Trump is dispatching U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday in a push to revive peace talks with Iran after diplomatic roadblocks earlier this week.
“We’ve certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Friday. “The president has made the decision to send Steve and Jared to hear the Iranians out, and so we’ll see what they have to say this weekend.”
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad late Friday, but he is not expected to speak directly with the American delegation. Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said Pakistani officials will relay messages between the two sides.
“No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S,” Baqaei said on X.
Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran earlier this week at the request of Pakistani mediators, though tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have tested the agreement.
The U.S. continues to ramp up economic pressure by blocking Iranian ports, and the president has ordered the military to “shoot and kill” any small Iranian boats deploying mines in the strategic waterway for oil shipments.
The timeline for clearing mines and securing the strait could impact how quickly fuel prices fall. The Pentagon reportedly told lawmakers in a classified briefing that the process could take six months, according to The Associated Press and The Washington Post.
“We would not speculate on a timeline. I saw that report. It was based on another leak from a closed-door session, which was supposed to be classified, and apparently, allegedly, that was something that was said,” Hegseth told reporters. “We feel confident in our ability, in the correct period of time, to clear any mines that we identify.”
Hegseth urged other countries to get involved in the effort and dismissed a conference of European nations on strategies to reopen the strait as “silly.”
“Those are not serious efforts yet. We would welcome that. We would welcome a serious European effort to do something about this strait and this passage, considering it’s their energy capabilities that are most at stake,” Hegseth said.
On Saturday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his country plans to deploy minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean, which may ultimately be sent to the Strait, pending approval from parliament.
