United States President Donald Trump has cancelled a planned diplomatic mission to Pakistan involving top American envoys meant to revive peace negotiations with Iran, raising fresh concerns over efforts to end the ongoing war involving Washington, Israel, and Tehran.
The trip, which was expected to include Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, was intended to facilitate direct discussions with Iranian officials in Islamabad as part of renewed efforts to secure a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
However, speaking in an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Trump said he had personally called off the mission, arguing that the talks were no longer worth pursuing if they failed to produce meaningful progress.
He stated that the United States remained in a strong negotiating position and insisted that Iran could reach out whenever it was ready for serious diplomacy.
According to Trump, he told his team there would be no further long-distance trips for discussions that yielded no concrete results, stressing that Washington already held the advantage in the negotiations.
Despite the decision, Trump clarified that cancelling the trip did not automatically mean a return to active military confrontation between the US, Israel, and Iran.
When asked by Axios whether the move suggested renewed hostilities, he said no such step had been considered yet, adding that the administration had not made any final decision on that front.
The White House had earlier described the planned Islamabad meeting as a crucial opportunity for face-to-face engagement, expressing hope that it could help move both sides closer to a peace deal.
Before Trump’s announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had completed his own diplomatic visit to Pakistan, where he met with Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar.
Pakistan has been playing a major role in mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington, with Islamabad serving as a bridge for diplomatic communication between both sides.
Following the visit, Iran confirmed that Araghchi had travelled to Muscat, Oman, where he was expected to hold talks with Omani officials before proceeding to Russia for further consultations on ending the conflict, which began on February 28.
In a statement shared on X, Araghchi described his visit to Pakistan as highly productive and said he had presented Iran’s position on what he called a realistic framework for permanently ending the war.
However, he also expressed doubts about Washington’s sincerity, saying Iran was still waiting to determine whether the United States was truly committed to diplomacy.
Even before Trump’s decision, signs had emerged that direct negotiations were uncertain, with Iranian state television reporting that Araghchi had no plans for face-to-face talks with American officials and that Pakistan would instead relay Iranian proposals.
Meanwhile, tensions have continued to rise around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil and gas shipping routes, which remains largely closed due to the conflict.
The disruption has caused serious concern in global energy markets and increased international pressure for an urgent resolution.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards stated on Saturday that they had no intention of ending their effective blockade of the strategic waterway, insisting that maintaining control over the strait remained a central part of Iran’s deterrence strategy against the United States and its allies.
The group said the move was necessary to preserve national security and regional leverage.
In response, the United States has maintained its own blockade of Iranian ports, further deepening tensions in the Gulf region.
Iran’s military command also warned that continued American military restrictions and maritime actions would trigger a strong response.
European Council President Antonio Costa called for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that free access to the route was essential not only for regional stability but also for the global economy.
On another front of the wider regional crisis, Trump recently announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire involving Lebanon and expressed optimism about what he described as the possibility of achieving historic peace after separate meetings with Israeli and Lebanese officials.
However, Hezbollah has pushed back against those efforts, with parliamentary bloc leader Mohammed Raad urging the Lebanese government to avoid entering direct negotiations with Israel.
He warned that any lasting peace agreement pursued under Trump’s approach would not gain broad national support in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hezbollah of trying to sabotage the peace process and reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to confronting the Iran-backed group.
Despite the ceasefire extension, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that Israeli strikes in the Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil areas on Saturday killed six people.
In Sidon, families displaced by months of fighting continued preparing to return to their homes in southern Lebanon, even as uncertainty remained over whether peace would last.
One resident, 74-year-old Ahmad Shumar, said his family was returning home without knowing whether the future held peace or renewed war, expressing the anxiety shared by many civilians caught in the conflict.
