President Trump announced Sunday that U.S. negotiators will travel Monday to Pakistan for talks to end the Iran war, as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz intensify.
Mr. Trump told a Fox reporter that White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, will travel to Islamabad for talks this week. He did not say if they would be direct talks.
Iran has not said if it will participate in any talks in Pakistan.
In a Truth Social post, Mr. Trump blasted the Islamic republic for what he said was a “total violation of our ceasefire agreement,” after Iranian forces fired on two vessels attempting to traverse the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday.
The two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire signed this month is set to expire Wednesday.
Iranian officials said Saturday that they had decided to reassert control over the strait, reversing Foreign Minister Abbas Argachi’s declaration that the waterway was “completely open.”
Mr. Trump on Sunday rebuked Iran’s decision to close the strait but said it would ultimately not impact the U.S.
“They’re helping us without knowing, and they are the ones that lose with the closed passage, $500 Million Dollars a day! The United States loses nothing. In fact, many Ships are headed, right now, to the U.S., Texas, Louisiana, and Alaska, to load up, compliments of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps],” he posted on Truth Social.
Mr. Trump also called on Iran to accept the “very fair and reasonable” deal offered by the U.S. If Tehran refuses the deal, he added, U.S. forces would “knock out” Iran’s bridges and power plants.
Human rights and legal experts have argued that such attacks could constitute war crimes.
Monday’s talks would mark the second official meeting of U.S. and Iranian diplomats since the war began. The two parties met April 11 in Islamabad, with Vice President J.D. Vance, Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner making up the U.S. team.
Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Mr. Aragchi led Iran’s delegation.
