'We have all the cards': Trump cancels Witkoff and Kushner’s Pakistan trip insisting US and Iran would be 'talking about nothing'
Iran's delegation has now left Islamabad after meeting Pakistani officials.
Donald Trump has cancelled US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's departure to Pakistan ahead of further talks over the Iran war.
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"You're not making an 18-hour flight to go there, we have all the cards," Trump quoted of his conversation with Witkoff and Kushner.
"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."
The comments to Fox News on Saturday come after Trump reportedly sent one journalist, currently covering talks with Iran in Islamabad, a text message telling her to “Come home!!!”.
It comes as Iran's foreign minister said that he was "yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy".
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Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister, posted to social media after arriving in Muscat, Oman, following the conclusion of talks in Pakistan on Saturday.
Suggestions that Witkoff and Kushner's trip to Pakistan have been halted comes just hours after the pair were reported to have departed for talks, despite Tehran claiming there are no plans for a direct meeting between the two countries.
Writing on X, Araghchi describes his visit to Pakistan as "very fruitful".He says he "shared Iran's position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran", but has "yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy".
The proposed US delegation had already lacked the notable weight of Vice-President JD Vance, insisting he was “on standby”.
It follows comments from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday suggesting the US envoys would travel to Pakistan today to "hear the Iranians out".
The US President had said on Friday night that he had sent a team to the Middle East because Iran was "making an offer and we'll have to see".
Witkoff and Kushner were due to meet Araghchi to continue negotiations in an effort to end the war in the Middle East and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran had insisted there are no plans for direct talks with the US. A senior Iranian official said Araghchi’s visit was focused solely on "bilateral relations", with nuclear negotiations off the table and described as a “red line”.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "Too much time wasted on travelling, too much work!"
"Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their 'leadership.' Nobody knows who is in charge, including them".