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Trump Cancels US Delegation to Islamabad for Iran Talks

US President Donald Trump cancelled the scheduled visit of a US delegation to Islamabad for the second round of Iran peace talks, citing unnecessary long-distance engagements. The Iranian delegation, led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, departed Pakistan after delivering an official list of demands to Pakistani leaders. This move effectively ends Islamabad’s hopes of facilitating direct US-Iran dialogue, as Araghchi plans to travel to Oman and Russia. The first round of talks in Islamabad, which included US Vice President JD Vance, lasted 21 hours without any breakthrough.

Key Points: Trump Cancels US Delegation to Islamabad for Iran Talks

  • Trump cancels US delegation trip to Islamabad for Iran peace talks
  • Iranian delegation led by Abbas Araghchi departs Pakistan after delivering demands
  • First round of talks in Islamabad lasted 21 hours with no breakthrough
  • Araghchi to travel to Oman and Russia for further negotiations
2 min read

"You're not making an 18 hour flight": Trump cancels US delegation trip to Islamabad for talks with Iran

Trump cancels US delegation trip to Islamabad for Iran talks, calling 18-hour flights unnecessary. Iranian delegation departs, leaving Pakistan’s peace deal hopes in tatters.

"You're not making an 18-hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. - Donald Trump"

Washington DC, April 25

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he has cancelled the scheduled visit of the US delegation, led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Senior Adviser and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, to Islamabad for talks with Iran for the second round of peace talks, aimed at achieving a comprehensive resolution to hostilities in West Asia.

The development was shared by Fox News White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie in a post on X, where she stated that Trump cancelled the visit by the delegation from Washington due to the long-distance engagements being unnecessary and unproductive.

Hasnie was on a direct phone conversation with the US President.

"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'," Trump said as quoted by Fox News.

This comes moments after the Iranian delegation, led by Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, departed Islamabad on Saturday evening (local time) after a day of high-level meetings with the Pakistan leadership, leaving Pakistan's ambitious claims of brokering a US-Iran peace deal as part of the second round of negotiations in tatters.

As reported by Al Jazeera, the delegation left the Pakistani capital after delivering an "official list of demands" to Pakistani leaders for the US and Israel in order to achieve a complete solution to the conflict in West Asia.

The departure effectively signals the end of Islamabad's hopes to facilitate the much-anticipated second round of direct dialogue, as Araghchi is now set to travel to Oman and Russia.

According to a statement issued by Araghchi in Telegram, the Iranian foreign minister explained Iran's "principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against" the Islamic Republic by US and Israeli forces to the Pakistani side.

This weekend's diplomatic theatre is rapidly mirroring the failures of the past. The first round of talks hosted in Islamabad - featuring US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliamentary Speaker MB Ghalibaf - dragged on for a gruelling 21 hours without yielding a single breakthrough.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Honestly, this just shows how fragile diplomatic efforts are in the current global climate. Pakistan was trying to show it can be a peace broker, but the players involved don't even want to talk. As usual, smaller nations get caught in the power games of bigger ones.
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Michael C
An 18-hour flight to talk about nothing? I guess Trump has a point. But cancelling at the last minute isn't respectful to the hosts and the other party. If you want peace, you need to be patient. Iran walking out and heading to Oman shows they aren't compromising either.
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Rohit P
21 hours of talks with zero results in the first round... and now this. Pakistan's "ambitious claims" backfired big time. It reminds me of when we tried to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. Sometimes, you just have to accept that some conflicts are beyond any third party. 😅
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Emma D
So, basically, the US says "we have all the cards" and Iran gives an "official list of demands." Both sides are playing hardball. The real loser here is Pakistan, which invested diplomatic capital for nothing. This is a tough neighbourhood for peacemaking. 🌏
K
Kavya N
Even with all the cards, cancelling a delegation at the last minute is not a sign of strength - it's disrespectful to the people who arranged the meeting. Iran going to Oman and Russia makes it look like they are shopping around for mediators who might be more neutral. India's been watching this from the sidelines.

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