Trump Cancels Pakistan Trip After Iran Diplomat Departs

President Donald Trump announced he has instructed U.S. envoys not to travel to Pakistan for additional talks with Iran, shortly after Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad on Saturday evening. The White House had previously announced that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan's capital to revive ceasefire negotiations following weeks of indirect talks that failed to produce a deal. Trump told Fox News that Iran can contact the United States "anytime they want" to pursue diplomatic resolution. The developments come amid a fragile ceasefire that has paused most fighting between the United States and Israel against Iran, though economic consequences continue to mount as Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz disrupts global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, and fertilizer. The price of Brent crude oil remains nearly 50 percent higher than when the conflict began, with a fifth of the world's oil passing through the strategic waterway during peacetime. Araghchi had met with Pakistan's army chief and prime minister to discuss what he described as Tehran's red lines for negotiations, stating Iran would continue engaging with Pakistan's mediation efforts "until a result is achieved." German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced Saturday that Germany is deploying minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean to help clear Iranian mines from the strait once hostilities end. Since the war began two months ago, Iranian officials have expressed skepticism about trusting the United States following collapsed nuclear negotiations earlier this year that preceded U.S. and Israeli strikes. Casualty figures from the conflict include at least 3,375 deaths in Iran, more than 2,490 in Lebanon where Hezbollah fighting erupted two days after the Iran war began, 23 in Israel, and 15 Israeli soldiers, 13 U.S. service members, and six UN peacekeeping force members killed. Trump announced Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks, though Hezbollah has not participated in the U.S.-brokered diplomacy. Iran also resumed commercial flights from Tehran's international airport on Saturday for the first time since the conflict began, with flights scheduled to Istanbul, Muscat, and Medina.