US President Donald Trump (archive photo)
US President Donald Trump on Saturday canceled a scheduled visit for his envoys to Pakistan, where they were supposed to meet Iranian leaders in Islamabad and hold peace talks with Tehran. He also criticized the Iranian leadership, saying, “No one knows who is responsible.”After canceling the visit to Islamabad, Trump said that the trip would have taken too long. He described it as “wasting a lot of time traveling.”“I just canceled my representative’s trip to Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians,” Trump said in a tweet on Truth Social. “Too much time wasted traveling, and too much work! On top of that, there is massive infighting and confusion within their leadership.”
“No one knows who is responsible, including them.”He also claimed that the United States had the upper hand and again pushed for talks with Iran, saying: “We also have all the cards, and they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”Senior US diplomats, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, canceled their travel plans following President Trump’s orders.Trump’s announcement came shortly after an Iranian delegation headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left Islamabad on Saturday evening after holding meetings with Pakistani leaders.
This development has weakened Pakistan’s hopes of playing a role in arranging talks between the United States and Iran.“It is yet to be seen whether the United States is really serious about diplomacy,” Araqchi said.According to Al Jazeera, the Iranian delegation left after presenting Pakistani leaders with a “formal list of demands” to the United States and Israel to help reach a broader solution in the Middle East.With the delegation now planning to visit Oman and Russia, Pakistan’s chances of hosting further talks appear uncertain.
