Trump craps Pakistan trip as Iran talks as there’s no point ‘to talk about nothing’

US President Donald Trump has cancelled a planned trip by American negotiators to Pakistan after Iran’s foreign minister reportedly left Islamabad without meeting US representatives, in a setback to a tentative diplomatic effort involving regional mediation.

Trump told Fox News that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer travel for talks linked to discussions with Iran, arguing there was no point in sending officials on an 18-hour journey without meaningful engagement.

Trump said on Sunday: “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.”

The development follows a visit to Islamabad by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was in Pakistan on Saturday for talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as part of efforts to facilitate indirect communication between Washington and Tehran.

However, Pakistani officials said Araghchi left the country without holding direct meetings with US representatives, effectively stalling the planned diplomatic track.

The episode comes amid broader attempts by Pakistan to position itself as a mediator between the two countries, as tensions continue to escalate in the region following wider instability in the Middle East.

Trump said the United States would not pursue talks without leverage, suggesting the decision to halt the delegation was based on a lack of diplomatic progress during Araghchi’s visit.

The cancellation also follows reports that a separate planned trip by US Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan had been called off. The Washington Post reported that the move was partly driven by concerns over the optics of a failed or unproductive diplomatic engagement.

Neither Washington nor Islamabad has formally confirmed details of the broader diplomatic initiative, but the episode highlights the fragility of back-channel efforts amid rising geopolitical tensions involving Iran and the United States.