Witkoff, Kushner yet to depart for Pakistan for talks; Iran’s FM has already left

While the White House said yesterday that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would depart this morning for talks with Iranian counterparts in Islamabad, the pair have yet to depart Florida as of 11 a.m. local time, a source familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.

The White House also claimed yesterday that Iran had reached out and expressed an interest in meeting in person to discuss its latest proposal for a permanent ceasefire.

If that is the case, there doesn’t seem to be urgency on either side to make that happen.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did fly to Islamabad on Friday, but he has already left the country after finishing his meetings with Pakistani officials, continuing his diplomatic tour with subsequent planned stops in Oman and Russia.

The fact that Kushner and Witkoff have yet to depart Washington could signal that Araghchi’s meetings with Pakistani mediators didn’t lead to progress toward a deal with the US.

But the source familiar with the matter says that Araghchi could return to Pakistan to meet with Witkoff and Kushner early next week after completing his trips to Oman and Russia.