Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was expected in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Friday to discuss proposals to restart peace talks with the United States, but Pakistani sources said he was not expected to meet US negotiators there.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that US President Donald Trump plans to send special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for talks with Araqchi in Islamabad, and the pair will leave on Saturday morning.
The U.S. has seen some progress on the Iranian side in recent days and expects more progress to be made in weekend talks, Leavitt said.
She added that US Vice President JD Vance, who this month led an unsuccessful first round of talks with Iran to end the war, is ready to travel to Pakistan to take part in the talks if they are successful.
Islamabad was the site of talks between the US and Iran that collapsed earlier this week.
Araqchi wrote in X that he was visiting Pakistan, Oman and Russia to coordinate with partners on bilateral issues and consult on regional developments, adding that Iran’s neighbors remained Tehran’s priority.
Continues after advertising
The trip will include consultations on the latest efforts to end the war, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman told state media.
Two Pakistani government sources aware of the discussions said Araqchi’s visit would be brief to discuss Iran’s proposals for talks with the US, which mediator Pakistan would convey to Washington.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a meeting on Friday that Iran had a chance to make a ‘good deal’ with the United States.
‘Iran knows it still has an open window to choose wisely… at the negotiating table. All they need to do is give up the nuclear weapon in a meaningful and verifiable way,’ he said.
Reports about Araqchi’s trip in Iranian state media and Pakistani sources did not mention Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, who was the head of the delegation in the previous talks.
The press office of the Iranian Parliament denied reports that Qalibaf had resigned as head of Iran’s negotiating team and added that a new round of negotiations had not yet been scheduled.
Continues after advertising
Pakistani sources earlier said that a US logistics and security team was already in place in Islamabad for possible negotiations.
The latest round of peace talks was supposed to resume on Tuesday but never happened, with Iran saying it was not yet ready to commit to participating and a U.S. delegation led by Vance never left Washington.
Trump unilaterally extended a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday at the last minute to give more time to reconvene negotiators.
Continues after advertising
Oil prices remained volatile on Friday as traders weighed the possible halt to the worst oil shock in history amid the prospect of further negotiations.
Brent crude futures were down 0.9% at $104.11, while West Texas Intermediate futures were down 2.8% at $93.20.
Blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
Trump said on Thursday he was in no rush to reach a deal with Iran and wanted it to be ‘lasting’, while claiming the US had the upper hand in a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy transport route.
Continues after advertising
The US has yet to find a way to open the strait, where Iran has blocked almost all ships except its own since the war began eight weeks ago. Iran demonstrated its control this week by seizing two huge cargo ships there.
Trump imposed a separate blockade on Iranian shipping last week. Iran says it will not reopen the strait until Trump lifts the blockade.
Just five ships crossed the strait in the past 24 hours, shipping data showed on Friday, compared with about 130 a day before the war. Those ships included an Iranian oil products tanker, but none of the large crude-carrying supertankers that typically fuel global energy markets.
Continues after advertising
Container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd also said one of its ships had crossed the strait, without giving details.
