Trump Calls Off Iran Peace Negotiations at the Eleventh Hour, Declaring ‘We Hold All the Cards’

(SeaPRwire) –   President Donald Trump unexpectedly called off plans for U.S. envoys to travel to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran on Saturday, casting uncertainty over the latest negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict.

Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, were scheduled to travel to Islamabad for discussions with Iranian leaders later that day, but Trump canceled the trip at the last minute, citing “infighting” within Iran’s leadership.

“Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!” he posted on Truth Social. “Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’ Nobody knows who is in charge, including them.”

“Also, we have all the cards,” he added.

He reiterated this sentiment when speaking with reporters in West Palm Beach on Saturday before boarding Air Force One.

“We have all the cards. We’re not going to spend 15 hours in airplanes all the time, going back and forth, to be given a document that was not good enough,” he stated, suggesting that Iran could simply “call” the U.S.

This development follows White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s announcement on Fox News the previous day that the president had instructed the duo to travel to Pakistan for in-person talks as the conflict approached its second month, and a tentative cease-fire extended by Trump the prior week. Leavitt had indicated that recent days had seen some progress with the Iranians, and the administration had anticipated further advancements following the meetings between Witkoff and Kushner.

However, mere hours before their scheduled departure, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad for Oman after nearly a full day of negotiations with Pakistani officials, who have emerged as unexpected mediators in the conflict.

In a post on X after his departure, Araghchi stated that Iran had “yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy.”

Trump’s decision to cancel the trip marks the second time in a week he has called off a planned visit by U.S. officials. Vice President J.D. Vance was expected to travel to Islamabad earlier in the week, but that trip was also canceled at the last minute.

Concurrently, Israel has continued its offensive in southern Lebanon, intensifying its actions on Saturday with two raids in the Nabatieh district that resulted in four fatalities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement indicating that he had directed the military to conduct “powerful strikes” against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, notwithstanding the existing cease-fire.

The Strait of Hormuz is still closed

Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz has become a critical element in the negotiations to end the war. Iran has effectively blocked the Strait, a vital waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil passed before the conflict began, permitting passage only to its allies and others who paid a toll. The U.S. has since implemented its own blockade on all traffic in an effort to compel Iran to reopen the Strait.

Shipping data from Friday indicates that only five vessels transited the Strait, a stark contrast to the over 130 ships that would typically pass through before the war commenced on February 28. The closure of the Strait has precipitated a global energy crisis and widespread fuel rationing.

Oil prices have surged by more than 11% in the past week as diplomatic efforts have failed to resolve the conflict, with Brent crude futures climbing to over $105 a barrel in early trading on Friday.