US-Iran peace talks expected to resume over the weekend

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Friday for Pakistan, on what is widely reported as resumed peace talks between Iran and the U.S.

The foreign minister afterward is expected to visit Oman and Russia on what Iranian state media described as a regional tour focused on bilateral consultations and discussions of ongoing developments in the war with the U.S. and Israel.

Two Pakistani officials anonymously confirmed Araghchi was traveling to Pakistan with a small government delegation, reported the Associated Press (AP).

Araghchi is playing coy for now.

“Embarking on timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow,” he posted on X. “Purpose of my visits is to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments. Our neighbors are our priority.”

The White House is dispatching special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad for the weekend talks, according to Trump administration officials who spoke with CNN.

Vice President JD Vance won’t attend since his counterpart, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, is not participating, said the cable news network.

However, members of Vance’s staff will be in Pakistan attending the negotiations and the vice president is available for talks if there are signs of progress, the administration officials said.

Pakistan has been trying to get talks to resume after Trump announced an extension of the ceasefire, honoring Islamabad’s request for more time for diplomatic outreach, said the AP.

In a call Friday, Araghchi, his Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar and Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir discussed “regional developments and ceasefire-related issues,” noted an official social media post by Iran.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted Friday that Operation Epic Fury has achieved decisive results in just weeks.

He said the Iranian mission is entering a new phase.

“Iran has an important choice, a chance to make a deal, a good deal, a wise deal,” Hegseth told reporters on Friday.

He confirmed a second U.S. aircraft carrier will be taking part in the U.S. blockade “in just a few days, but this growing blockade has also gone global.”

Hegseth noted the U.S. seized two Iranian tankers in the Indo-Pacific region this week.

He also warned attempts by Iran to lay mines would be a violation of the cease-fire.

Trump cleared the U.S. to “shoot and kill” Iranian attempts to sow more mines and said he feels no urgency to get a peace deal done, reported NBC News.

The first round of U.S.-Iranian talks in Islamabad on Apr. 11-12 ended without an agreement.

Trump said most points were agreed to but that Iran was “unyielding” on the nuclear issue.

The U.S. has said repeatedly that the core demand remains: Tehran must give up its nuclear material and program.

“I would tell anyone we’re a long way from any sort of agreement with Iran,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted about the nuclear demands. “It may not be possible, we don’t know.”

Araghchi said a deal was “just inches away” but criticized what he called maximalist demands and “shifting goalposts” from the U.S. side.

Iran has continued to restrict traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and attacked three ships earlier this week, while the U.S. has maintained its naval blockade of Iranian ports and concentrated on clearing mines, said NBC News.