(USA, 26th) U.S. President Trump has canceled the U.S. delegation’s trip to Pakistan. Previously, the Iranian foreign minister left Islamabad after only meeting with Pakistani officials, undoubtedly bringing a new setback to peace prospects.
Reuters reports that on Saturday (April 25) in Florida, Trump told reporters he decided to cancel the visit of U.S. envoy Witkoff and his son-in-law Kushner because the meetings in Islamabad involved too much travel and expense, and Iran’s latest peace proposal was still not good enough for him.
Before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington, he said that after he announced the cancellation, Iran submitted a revised proposal, “but it still isn’t enough.”
According to AFP, Trump told reporters: “The document (from Iran) should have been better, but interestingly, less than 10 minutes after I canceled the trip, we received a better new document.”
According to AFP, Trump told reporters: “The document (from Iran) should have been better, but interestingly, less than 10 minutes after I canceled the trip, we received a better new document.”
He also said, “We hold all the cards. (Iran) can contact us at any time, but you’re not going to fly 18 hours just for idle chatter anymore.”
When asked if canceling the trip meant that war would reignite, Trump responded, “No, this doesn’t mean that war will break out again. We haven’t even thought about that.”
He later posted on social media: “I just canceled the delegation’s trip to Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with Iran. Too much time wasted on travel, too much work! Moreover, their (Iran's) ‘leadership’ is in constant dispute and chaos. Nobody knows who's in charge, including themselves. And we hold all the cards—they have nothing! If they want to talk, they just need to call!”
Not long before, Iranian Foreign Minister Aragchi concluded his visit to Islamabad, during which he met with key mediator, Pakistani military chief Munir, as well as Prime Minister Sharif and Foreign Minister Dar.
Aragchi stated that the Pakistan trip was “productive”, but expressed skepticism about Washington’s intentions. “I haven’t yet seen whether the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy.”
Even before Trump took action, the prospects for negotiations were not clear. Iranian state television stated that Aragchi had no plans to meet with U.S. officials, and Islamabad would play the role of conveying proposals.
This conflict began on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, and there is currently a ceasefire agreement in place.