On Friday evening, Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad for talks, while US President Donald Trump simultaneously announced he was sending his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner to meet him there on Saturday.
The timing underscores the urgency behind renewed diplomatic efforts to halt the widening conflict that began in February when US and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iranian leadership, culminating in the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the succession of his son Mojtaba.
Despite the diplomatic flurry, the situation on the ground remains volatile. Israeli forces resumed attacks in southern Lebanon on Friday, killing two people near Touline, according to Lebanese health officials, while Hezbollah retaliated with rocket fire into northern Israel and urged the Lebanese government to abandon peace talks.
Iranian state media, meanwhile, accused the US of deception, claiming Araghchi’s trip to Pakistan was not intended for direct negotiations with American officials but merely to coordinate with regional partners on Tehran’s position.
This contradiction — simultaneous diplomatic overtures and mutual accusations of bad faith — reflects the fragile state of a conflict where military escalation and diplomatic outreach now run in parallel.
Back in Berlin, Chancellor Friedrich Merz conditioned any easing of sanctions on Iran on three demands: permanent openness of the Strait of Hormuz, a verifiable conclude to Iran’s nuclear program, and ironclad security guarantees for Israel.
For more on this story, see Germany offers minehunters for Hormuz Strait security after ceasefire.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed this alignment, stating in a video message that Israel and the United States were operating with “full cooperation” on Iran, while warning that Hezbollah sought to sabotage any potential Lebanon-Israel peace process.
The White House, through spokesperson Karoline Leavitt on Fox News, confirmed Witkoff and Kushner would meet Iranian intermediaries in Islamabad, though it did not specify whether Araghchi himself would be present at those talks.
Pakistani officials confirmed Araghchi’s arrival and noted he had spoken beforehand with military chief Asim Munir and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, with Iranian sources indicating he also planned stops in Oman and Moscow.
For now, the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah — already described as fragile by both Lebanese and Israeli officials — hangs in the balance, with each side accusing the other of violating its terms even as diplomats shuttle between capitals.
Why is the US sending both Witkoff and Kushner to these talks?
Witkoff, as Trump’s special envoy, carries formal diplomatic authority, while Kushner’s role — though unofficial — reflects the president’s reliance on family channels in sensitive negotiations, a pattern seen during his first term.
What happens if these talks fail?
Without a diplomatic breakthrough, the risk of further military escalation increases, potentially drawing in regional actors and threatening global energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, though both sides have so far avoided direct confrontation beyond proxy exchanges.
