Administration

Trump says he won’t send officials to Pakistan for negotiations

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by Ashleigh Fields - 04/26/26 12:26 PM ET

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by Ashleigh Fields - 04/26/26 12:26 PM ET

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President Trump on Sunday said U.S. officials will not be traveling to Pakistan for peace negotiations regarding the Iran war.

“We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone,” Trump said during an appearance where he called in to Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

“We have nice secure lines, although I’m not sure any telephone line is secure, frankly, but we have secure lines, and if they want, we can talk, but we’re not sending people to travel 18 hours to meet,” he added.

The president made similar comments on Saturday, when he called off talks set to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan.

“I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going is Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians,” Trump wrote at the time.

“Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership,’” he continued. “Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”

His remarks follow Vice President Vance’s cancelled trip to Islamabad last week. Vance was supposed to attend talks in person alongside U.S. Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Instead, Trump extended the Iran ceasefire indefinitely until Tehran’s officials presented a proposal to end the war.

However, Trump said the U.S. goals for an agreement are clear.

“Very simple. They cannot have a nuclear weapon, otherwise there’s no reason to meet,” Trump told Fox News’s White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich.

Trump has struggled to gain total control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil shipments and an international focal point for the war.

Iran has planted mines in the water preventing ships from traveling through safely, while the U.S. military has launched a naval blockade to prevent Tehran from selectively approving certain vessels for travel.

Trump said the blockade would harshly impact Iran’s economy while acknowledging that their resources are dwindling amid the uncertainty of peace talks.

“I think the big advantage is that we’ve taken out their navy in its entirety, which we’ve taken out their air force. Have no air force left. They have no navy left,” the president said.

“Their leaders are gone. Which is, which is a good thing. They were far more radicalized than the people that we’re dealing with now, the people we’re dealing with now, some of them are very reasonable people, and others are not, and they’re not getting along,” he added.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is severely wounded and is being isolated to prevent further strikes from claiming his life.

Still, Iran’s embassy in South Africa said on Saturday that Tehran is prepared to launch the “largest missile strike in history” against U.S. and Israeli bases in West Asia if the two countries attack again in the midst of negotiations.

“Iran has prepared for the ‘largest missile strike in history’ against Israel and U.S. bases in West Asia, to be launched immediately upon detecting any signs of an attack,” the embassy posted on the social platform X.

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