AFP- US envoys headed to the Pakistani capital Saturday in a bid to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations with Iran amid a fragile ceasefire, though the prospect of direct talks remained uncertain.
The White House said emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would engage in an “in-person conversation” with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said that direct negotiations were not in the cards.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday.
Despite President Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday of a three-week ceasefire extension in Lebanon, Israeli strikes in the south of the country killed six people on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said.
While Trump expressed confidence at the prospect of a lasting peace in Lebanon, sealing a deal to end the wider Middle East war is a thornier proposition, even as urgency mounts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
