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Trump Cancels Envoys’ Trip to Islamabad, Hopes Fade for Breakthrough in Iran War

Pakistani security officials stand guard at a checkpoint amid a high-level security lockdown ahead of anticipated US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
Pakistani security officials stand guard at a checkpoint amid a high-level security lockdown ahead of anticipated US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
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Trump Cancels Envoys’ Trip to Islamabad, Hopes Fade for Breakthrough in Iran War

Pakistani security officials stand guard at a checkpoint amid a high-level security lockdown ahead of anticipated US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
Pakistani security officials stand guard at a checkpoint amid a high-level security lockdown ahead of anticipated US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, 25 April 2026. (EPA)

President Donald Trump cancelled a trip to Islamabad by two US envoys to meet Iran war mediator Pakistan on Saturday after Iran's foreign minister flew out of the Pakistani capital following talks, dealing a new setback to peace prospects. 

Trump said in a social media post that he had called off the planned visit by his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, citing what he said was tremendous confusion it the Iranian leadership. 

"Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is ‌tremendous infighting and ‌confusion within their "leadership." 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!!!" he wrote. 

Trump said that canceling the trip did not automatically mean war with Iran would restart despite the setback in peace efforts.   

Asked whether the cancellation meant he would resume the war, Trump told Axios: "No. It doesn't mean that. We haven't thought about it yet." 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had earlier left Islamabad without signs of a breakthrough in talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior officials. 

Tehran has ruled out a new round of direct talks with the United States and ⁠an Iranian diplomatic source said Tehran would not accept ‌Washington's "maximalist demands". 

IRAN AND US AT AN ‌IMPASSE 

Washington and Tehran are at an impasse as Iran has largely closed the Strait ‌of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied ‌natural gas shipments, while the US blocks Iran's oil exports. 

The conflict, in which a ceasefire is in force, began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28. Iran has since carried out strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf ‌states, and the war has pushed up energy prices to multi-year highs, stoking inflation and darkening global growth prospects. 

Araqchi "explained ⁠our country's ⁠principled positions regarding the latest developments related to the ceasefire and the complete end of the imposed war against Iran", said a statement on the minister's official Telegram account. 

Asked about Tehran's reservations about US positions in the talks, an Iranian diplomatic source in Islamabad told Reuters: "Principally, Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands." 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US had seen some progress from the Iranian side in recent days and hoped more would come this weekend, while Vice President JD Vance was ready to travel to Pakistan as well. 

Vance led a first round of unsuccessful talks with Iran in Islamabad earlier this month. 

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World

Iran: Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Until Conditions Are Met

Iran: Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Until Conditions Are Met
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Iran: Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Until Conditions Are Met

Iran: Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen Until Conditions Are Met

The Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until seven Iranian conditions set out in a June interim agreement with the US are met, Nournews reported Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as saying on Sunday, a few days after Tehran received Washington's reply to its diplomatic proposal.

“The Americans, who say something different in the media, have recently put forward proposals through a mediator. ⁠But they must understand that ⁠the period of dragging out the process and dictating one-sided demands is over," Qalibaf was quoted as saying.

"The position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely clear and firm, and the Strait of Hormuz ⁠will not be opened until our seven conditions, based on the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, are met."

Meanwhile, army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told Fars news on Sunday that Iran will upgrade the range of its missiles following the war with the US as American forces are now ⁠positioned as much ⁠as 1,000 km (621 miles) away from the Iranian ⁠coast.

"During this war, we concluded that we absolutely must increase the ⁠range of ⁠our missiles, and we have now moved in that direction," he said.

World

Iran Tells US There is No Military Solution to Mideast War

(FILES) Vehicles drive past a giant billboard reading 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed' at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
(FILES) Vehicles drive past a giant billboard reading 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed' at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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Iran Tells US There is No Military Solution to Mideast War

(FILES) Vehicles drive past a giant billboard reading 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed' at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
(FILES) Vehicles drive past a giant billboard reading 'The Strait of Hormuz remains closed' at the Revolution Square in Tehran on April 28, 2026. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran's top diplomat insisted on Sunday that there would be no military solution to the United States' war against Iran, with talks on ending the conflict apparently at an impasse.

A campaign of heavy bombardment failed to bring a decisive close to the war launched by the US and Israel in late February, and Washington in recent weeks has dialed back military operations in favor of economic pressure.

The main point of contention remains Iran's attempt to blockade the Strait of Hormuz where a UK maritime agency reported on Sunday another tanker struck by an unknown projectile.

"If our enemies again choose the path of military confrontation, our response will be stronger than before, and we will defend ourselves with even more force," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a gathering of foreign ambassadors.

"There is no military solution, nor any solution based on new sanctions," he continued, adding "only negotiations based on justice and fairness" could end the conflict.

The two sides agreed a memorandum of understanding in June that spelled out a framework for a permanent resolution, but Iranian attacks on vessels in the Hormuz prompted a return to US military operations.

On Sunday, the British maritime security agency UKMTO said a tanker in the Hormuz "reported being struck by an unknown projectile, causing damage to the engine room", though the crew were reported safe and no environmental impact was recorded.

The agency did not specify the date of the incident, the vessel's origin or destination, or whether it was an oil tanker or LNG carrier.

Iranian and US officials last week held indirect talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with Tehran saying it presented seven conditions for reopening the strait.

Iran has demanded, among other things, a ceasefire across the Middle East, the unfreezing of its assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockade.

Trump, however, rejected the proposal, while leaving the door open both to further talks or renewed military operations.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei on Sunday characterized the latest US counterproposal as being "in line with their previous proposals concerning nuclear issues".

"We have clearly indicated that we are focusing on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz," he said, adding that reopening the waterway required "an end to the disruptions to Iranian commercial maritime traffic and the lifting of sanctions".

World

Japan: US Marine Arrested on Suspicion of Murdering Woman

Military Osprey aircraft are seen at the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Base in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture, where the suspect involved in the robbery and murder is stationed (Reuters)
Military Osprey aircraft are seen at the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Base in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture, where the suspect involved in the robbery and murder is stationed (Reuters)
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Japan: US Marine Arrested on Suspicion of Murdering Woman

Military Osprey aircraft are seen at the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Base in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture, where the suspect involved in the robbery and murder is stationed (Reuters)
Military Osprey aircraft are seen at the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Base in Ginowan City, Okinawa Prefecture, where the suspect involved in the robbery and murder is stationed (Reuters)

A US Marine stationed on Japan's southern island of Okinawa was arrested on suspicion of the murder of a Japanese woman, police said on Sunday.

The suspect "killed the 39-year-old woman at a hotel in Naha and stole her wallet on Saturday," a local police spokesman told AFP.

US Ambassador George Glass posted on social media that he had spoken with Japan's foreign ministry and Okinawa's governor to offer "our sincere condolences and pledging full cooperation as the investigation continues".

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi called the crime "exceptionally brutal and vicious" on X.

The government has urged the US "to provide maximum cooperation with the investigation, enforce stricter discipline among US military personnel, and take thorough measures to prevent the recurrence of similar crimes," Takaichi said.

Public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media outlets, citing investigation sources, reported that CCTV footage from near the scene showed a foreign man entering a room with a woman and later leaving with her belongings.

Police then found the 20-year-old man, who matched the description of the suspect seen in the footage, and asked him to accompany them voluntarily to a local police station where he was arrested, NHK reported.

He reportedly denied the charges.

The United States has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on Okinawa.

A series of crimes including rapes, assaults, hit-and-run and drink-driving accidents by US personnel have long sparked protests on Okinawa and have been a frequent thorn in relations between close security allies Japan and the US.

Last year, a Japanese court sentenced a US Marine accused of choking and attempting to rape a woman in her 20s to seven years in prison.

In 2017, a former US Marine and civilian military base worker was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a local woman in Okinawa.

In the same year, US Forces in Japan banned all personnel from consuming alcohol after a drunken US Marine crashed his vehicle into a mini-truck, killing its 61-year-old local driver.