US President Donald Trump is dispatching his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan, the White House announced on Friday. This development comes just hours after Iran's top diplomat departed for the South Asian nation, where officials have been striving to facilitate a second round of ceasefire negotiations between the United States and Iran.
The trip occurs amid global anxiety over a conflict that has disrupted vital energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz, clouded the worldwide economic outlook, and resulted in thousands of fatalities across West Asia. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking in an interview on Fox News Channel, confirmed that the two envoys will engage in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday. "We're hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward to a deal," Leavitt stated. She added that Vice President J.D. Vance would not be traveling but remains "deeply involved" and will be in the US, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president's national security team, on "standby" to fly to Pakistan "if necessary."
Earlier on Friday, Araghchi wrote on X that he was en route to Pakistan, Oman, and Russia for a trip centered on "bilateral matters and regional developments."
Trump Rules Out Nuclear Strike on Iran
President Donald Trump on Thursday dismissed the possibility of using a nuclear weapon against Iran, despite his earlier threats to annihilate Iranian civilization. "No, I wouldn't use it," he told reporters at the White House. "Why would I use a nuclear weapon when we've, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it?" He emphasized, "A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody." On April 7, Trump had issued a genocidal threat that a "whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back," but agreed to a ceasefire within hours.
Jones Act Waiver Extended
On Friday, the White House announced that Trump issued a 90-day extension to the Jones Act waiver, facilitating non-American vessels to transport oil and natural gas. Trump initially granted a 60-day waiver in March to stabilize energy prices and ease oil and gas shipments to the US following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. "New data compiled since the initial waiver was issued revealed that significantly more supply was able to reach US ports faster," the White House stated on social media.
The price of Brent crude oil retreated on the news, fluctuating between $103 and over $107 per barrel—still 50% higher than on February 28, when the war began. The squeeze on shipments through the strait has impacted global maritime trade flows, including through the Panama Canal nearly halfway around the world.
Pakistan's Diplomatic Role
Pakistan has been endeavoring to bring US and Iranian officials back to the negotiating table after Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran this week, honoring Islamabad's request for additional time for diplomatic outreach. However, tensions in the strait remain high. Iran has maintained its stranglehold on traffic, attacking three ships this week, while the US continues a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump has ordered the military to "shoot and kill" small boats that could be laying mines.
"Iran has an important choice, a chance to make a deal, a good deal, a wise deal," US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters on Friday. He indicated that a second US aircraft carrier would join the blockade in a few days. Washington already has three aircraft carriers in the region: USS George HW Bush in the Indian Ocean, USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, and USS Gerald R Ford in the Red Sea. This marks the first time since 2003 that three US carriers have operated simultaneously in the area, comprising 200 aircraft and 15,000 sailors and Marines, according to US Central Command.
Conflict Casualties
Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, and more than 2,490 in Lebanon, where new fighting erupted between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah two days after the war started, according to authorities. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed. The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has also sustained casualties. UNIFIL reported on Friday that an Indonesian peacekeeper died from wounds sustained in an attack on his base on March 29, raising the number of force members killed since the war erupted to six—four Indonesians and two French.
