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White House reacts to reports of Iran-US meet in Pak: 'Speculation shouldn't...'
The White House has reportedly refused to confirm reports of a US-Iran meet in Pak, cautioning against believing speculation before any official announcement.
Pakistan is reportedly gearing up to take a central role to broker peace between Iran and the US amid a raging war that recently entered the fourth week. With reports claiming that Islamabad may be the destination for negotiations between American and Iranian officials, the White House has refused to confirm the development, cautioning against believing speculation before any official announcement.
News agency ANI said it reached out to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on whether top US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, would meet Iranian officials in Islamabad, as reported by some. In response, Leavitt reportedly said: "These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the US will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House."
Follow live updates on the Iran-US war here.
What reports said on ‘talks’ in Pakistan
Leavitt's remarks came after some publications cited officials as saying that talks on ending the Iran-US war that began last month could take place in Islamabad.
A Financial Times report said that Pakistan was trying to position itself as a "lead mediator" to broker peace amid the ongoing war. While Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he spoke with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, the FT report cited sources as saying that Pakistan Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Asim Munir spoke to Trump on Sunday.
Meanwhile, reports by news agency Reuters, and the Times of Israel also said that Iran and the US could convene for talks in Islamabad later this week. The Israeli publication said that apart from Vance, US Special Presidential Envoy for Peace Missions, Steve Witkoff and Businessman and former Senior Advisor to US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, would represent the US, and Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf would head the delegation from Tehran.
Did Iran and US hold talks?
Amid a raging war, some hope for resolution emerged on Monday as Donald Trump claimed that Iran was eager for a deal and that Kushnar and Witkoff were in had held talks Sunday with an Iranian leader.
While the US President didn't name who the leader was, Iran's Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf later rubbished his claims saying no negotiations had taken place. “And fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped,” the Iranian leader further said in his post on X.
His remarks came amid global energy supply and price concerns due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway used to transport 20% of the world's crude supplies.
