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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 President Calls on People to Save Energy

Iranians shop in the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians shop in the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
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Iran President Calls on People to Save Energy

Iranians shop in the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 25 April 2026. (EPA)
Iranians shop in the Tajrish bazaar in Tehran, Iran, 25 April 2026. (EPA)

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on his people Saturday to conserve electricity, warning that while there were no shortages at present, the US and Israel aimed to sow "dissatisfaction" among the Iranian people.

"We have asked our dear people, who are now ready and present on the ground, a simple request. And that is to reduce their own electricity and energy consumption," the president said on state TV.

"We do not need people to sacrifice for the time being, but we do need to control consumption. Instead of 10 lights, two lights should be turned on in the house -- what is wrong with that?" he added.

Despite the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, there have been no reported power cuts in Tehran in recent days.

Pezeshkian accused Iran's enemies of hitting infrastructure and imposing a blockade "so that the current satisfaction turns into dissatisfaction".

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to wipe out Iran's power infrastructure, but has so far not followed through.

Even before the current war with the United States and Israel, however, Iran suffered frequent power outages during the winter and summer peaks in demand.

According to the International Energy Agency, Iran generates nearly four-fifths of its electricity from burning natural gas, a resource in which it is self-sufficient thanks to vast gas fields.

It supplements this with low-quality heavy fuel oil, known as mazout, used at older power stations.

Nevertheless, ageing infrastructure, a lack of investment and the impact of fierce international sanctions that cut off access to technology and investment have left the electricity grid unable to cope with demand.

Pezeshkian has previously launched several public awareness campaigns to reduce energy use.

World

Türkiye Dismisses Deputy Education Minister After School Shootings

Flowers are hung on the fence of a school where a shooting took place, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, April 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Flowers are hung on the fence of a school where a shooting took place, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, April 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Dismisses Deputy Education Minister After School Shootings

Flowers are hung on the fence of a school where a shooting took place, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, April 16, 2026. (Reuters)
Flowers are hung on the fence of a school where a shooting took place, in the southeastern province of Kahramanmaras, Türkiye, April 16, 2026. (Reuters)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismissed Türkiye’s deputy education minister after two school shootings that left nine people dead, according to the official gazette published late Friday.

Eight students aged 10 and 11 and a teacher were killed this month when a 14-year-old opened fire at a school in the southern province of Kahramanmaras.

Authorities said the attacker, who died at the scene, brought five firearms and was the son of a former police inspector, who has since been arrested.

A separate attack in southeastern Sanliurfa province involved a former student who opened fire at his old high school before taking his own life when confronted by police.

Under a decree signed by Erdogan, deputy education minister Nazif Yilmaz was dismissed and replaced by Cihad Demirli.

The measures also targeted the leadership of state institutions responsible for education, according to the decree.

The incidents have sparked public outcry and Erdogan has said the government will introduce measures, including restrictions on gun ownership.

World

Macron Reaffirms Efforts to Reopen Strait of Hormuz, as TotalEnergies Warns of Energy Shortages

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Greece–France Economic Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, April 25, 2026. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Greece–France Economic Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, April 25, 2026. (Reuters)
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Macron Reaffirms Efforts to Reopen Strait of Hormuz, as TotalEnergies Warns of Energy Shortages

French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Greece–France Economic Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, April 25, 2026. (Reuters)
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a Greece–France Economic Forum at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens, Greece, April 25, 2026. (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated ‌on Saturday that he was focused on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a day after the head of TotalEnergies warned of global energy shortages if the Iran war continues for months.

Macron, speaking at a news conference in Athens alongside Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said panic caused by geopolitical uncertainty can in itself lead to shortages.

"Our goal is to achieve a full reopening in the coming days and weeks, in accordance with ‌international law, ‌guaranteeing freedom of navigation without tolls on ‌the ⁠Strait of Hormuz. Then ⁠things can gradually return to normal," Macron said.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne pressed on Friday for the reopening of the strait, through which about a fifth of the globe's oil and gas supply normally flows.

Movement through the strait, which is also a key transport route for ⁠goods including fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, has been choked ‌due to the US-Israeli ‌war with Iran, as Iran has seized container ships and ‌the United States has mounted a blockade on Iranian ‌ports.

"If it lasts two, three months more, we are entering in a world of scarcity of energy, which Asian countries have already suffered," Pouyanne told the World Policy Conference in Chantilly, ‌outside Paris. "You cannot have 20% of the oil and gas of the planet being ⁠stranded and ⁠not accessible without major consequences."

More than a dozen countries have said they are willing to join an international mission led by France and Britain to protect shipping in the strait when conditions permit, even as US President Donald Trump has said he does not need allies' help.

"We're all in the same boat, and it's not a boat we chose, if I may say. We're victims of geopolitics and we're victims of this war that started several months ago," Macron said on Saturday.