Top U.S. and Iranian peace negotiators will not speak in Pakistan over the weekend,with President Donald Trump telling his delegation not to make the trip after the Iranian delegation left.
Trump told Fox News’ White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie on Saturday that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will no longer go to Pakistan for talks with Iran, the news channel reported.
“’We have all the cards. 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,’” Trump told Fox News in a phone interview, according to comments read aloud on the network.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reportedly already left Islamabad, Pakistan, following talks with the country’s prime minister.
The White House confirmed the president’s remarks.
“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18 hour flight to go there,” he said.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicated earlier in the day that the Islamic republican delegation would relay their position to the Americans through Pakistani mediators.
“Araghchi will be meeting with Pakistani high-level officials in concert with their ongoing mediation & good offices for ending American imposed war of aggression and the restitution of peace in our region,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said. “No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the U.S. Iran’s observations would be conveyed to Pakistan.”
At issue is the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.Trump said this week that he has no intention of lifting the blockade until Iran makes a deal to end the war.
Iran has responded by stepping up its attacks on ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz. The country’s leaders have signaled they will not enter into talks until Trump calls off the blockade.
Across the country, the average price for a gallon of gas remained above $4 Friday evening. In California, the average price was $5.90, according to GasBuddy. Trump told Americans on Thursday to expect higher prices as the war continues.
Anthony Thompson
President Donald Trump said Saturday he canceled a planned trip to Pakistan for U.S. representatives because he believed too much time would be wasted traveling and said Iran’s leadership was too divided for productive talks.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed there was confusion and infighting within Iran’s leadership.
“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” Trump wrote. He also said, “If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
Trump added that the United States holds the stronger position in any potential negotiations, writing, “We have all the cards, they have none!”
The president said he “got another fresh offer 10 minutes after canceling Pakistan meeting.” It was not immediately clear what the new offer involved or whether talks would be rescheduled.
Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
Anthony Thompson
Israel said Saturday it plans to intensify attacks on Hezbollah positions, putting fresh strain on a shaky ceasefire with Lebanon that President Trump recently said had been extended for three more weeks, according to Reuters.
The warning came amid renewed violence along the border. Lebanon’s state news agency reported four people were killed in strikes in the country’s south. Israel’s military said Hezbollah launched two rockets toward northern Israel, adding that one was intercepted. No injuries were immediately reported, Reuters reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the military had been ordered to “vigorously attack” Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon, though no additional details were released.
Sarah D. Wire
President Donald Trump told Fox News’ White House correspondent Aishah Hasnie on Saturday that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will no longer be heading to Pakistan for talks with Iran, the news channel reported.
Trump said it’s not worth the U.S. delegation making the 18-hour flight to Pakistan when the U.S. holds all the cards in the conflict with Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has reportedly already left Islamabad, Pakistan, following talks with the country’s prime minister.
Trump told Fox News that the Iranians can call the U.S. at any time they want.
“I’ve told my people a little while ago they were getting ready to leave, and I said, ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18 hour flight to go there. We have all the cards. 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’,” Trump said.
Michael Loria
The Chinese Embassy to the United States responded to the Treasury Department’s move to sanction a private Chinese oil refinery company by telling the U.S. to “stop politicizing trade.”
“We call on the U.S. to stop politicizing trade and sci-tech issues and using them as a weapon and a tool and stop abusing various kinds of sanctions to hit Chinese companies,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy told USA TODAY Friday evening. “China will take necessary steps to firmly safeguard the lawful rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
U.S. Treasury Department officials on Friday placed sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical Dalian, a major Chinese private oil company that before the war refined some 400,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil daily, experts told USA TODAY.
The embassy spokesperson added that China is interested in restoring peace to the region.
“Since the ongoing conflict in Iran broke out, China has been actively working for peace,” the spokesperson said. “Normal trade between countries should not be disrupted or harmed.”
USA TODAY previously reported Chinese officials played a key role in brokering the ceasefire between the United States and Iran.
Michael Loria
A senior official at the U.S. State Department laid out the country’s legal justification for the Iran war, saying the United States is involved “at the request of and in the collective self-defense of its Israeli ally.”
“Epic Fury is only the latest round of an ongoing international armed conflict with Iran,” State Department Legal Adviser Reed D. Rubinstein wrote in a department publication, using the White House’s chosen code name for the military mission. “The United States is engaged in this conflict at the request of and in the collective self-defense of its Israeli ally, as well as in the exercise of the United States’ own inherent right of self-defense.”
According to the Office of the Legal Adviser assessment, the war is in keeping with international law based on “Iran’s malign aggression over decades, particularly in Iran’s escalatory attacks against the United States, Israel, and others in the region for years.”
The assessment comes as over 100 legal scholars signed a letter saying the U.S. decision to launch strikes on Feb. 28 that took out the country’s supreme leader and began the war violated the U.N. Charter on the use of force.
State Department officials trace the roots of the ongoing conflict back to the Islamic Revolution in 1979 that gave rise to the Islamic Republic of Iran. The legal assessment cites numerous instances of Iran-linked terrorist attacks leading to the deaths of hundreds of Americans since 1983.
Most recently, the assessment cites attacks by Iranian allies on U.S. targets in the Middle East, anti-Israel government rhetoric and the country’s “illicit” nuclear program.