Iran war news highlights: Abbas Araghchi to ‘return to Pakistan’ en route to Russia after Oman visit

Iran war news LIVE: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he had spoken by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian after US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad were called off.

"Pakistan remains committed to serve as an honest and sincere facilitator - working tirelessly to advance durable peace and lasting stability in the region," Sharif wrote on X.

Iran war news LIVE: It will soon be 60 days since a surprise US-Israeli attack on Iran triggered a full-blown war between the countries, the ripples of which were felt across the Middle East. While a fragile ceasefire remains in place, the threats between the US and Iran continue and the future of negotiations in mediator state Pakistan remains unclear.

A big question now looms. Will US President Donald Trump adhere to the legal 60-day limit on unauthorised wars or will the conflict continue? There's also confusion on the timeline of the war and differences among US lawmakers on the day the war completes 60 days. Read more here

Iran war news LIVE: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has termed the Iran war as “completely unnecessary”.

Iran war news LIVE: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone on Saturday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, holding what he described as a “warm and constructive discussion” on the evolving regional situation.

In a post on the social platform X, Sharif said he appreciated Iran’s continued engagement, including the dispatch of a high-level delegation to Islamabad led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

He added that, with the support of friends and partners, Pakistan remains committed to serving as an “honest and sincere facilitator” to advance durable peace and lasting stability in the region.

Iran war news LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Saturday defended his decision to cancel the planned visit of US envoys to Pakistan for talks with Iran, asserting that Tehran's proposal fell short of expectations.

Speaking to reporters at Palm Beach International Airport, President Trump said, "They offered a lot but not enough," while responding to a question on whether Iran had offered anything in return to negotiate the US proposal of a 20-year minimum suspension on enriched uranium.

President Donald Trump has abruptly cancelled a scheduled trip to Pakistan for his top negotiators, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. The envoys were set to fly to Islamabad for a new round of talks regarding the ongoing US-Iran conflict, but the President pulled the plug on Saturday, citing long travel times, high costs, and a lack of "senior-level" engagement from the Iranian side.

via ANI

Iran war news LIVE: President Donald Trump says the US Navy is clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz, a vital sea route for oil shipments whose disruption is increasingly threatening the global economy.

Sweeping for underwater explosives could take months despite a tenuous ceasefire between the United States and Iran in the weekslong war, experts say. Any future claims that the US cleared the waterway where 20 per cent of the world's oil typically passes might fail to convince commercial freighters and their insurers that it is finally safe.

via AP

Iran war news LIVE: Amid the stalled negotiations with Iran, US President Donald Trump said the Iranians sent over a new peace proposal, but that it "could have been better," and rejected it.

"They gave us a paper that could have been better, and interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it, within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better," Trump said to reporters on Saturday before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Florida.

The President wouldn't offer specifics about what was in the latest proposal other than saying "they offered a lot." But he stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran "will not have a nuclear weapon."

Trump said he cancelled the latest rounds of negotiations with Iran because it was "a lot of travelling" and because his negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, "weren't meeting with the leader of the country."

Iran war news LIVE: ran's foreign minister will visit Pakistan again, according to a report by Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.

It said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will return to Pakistan after his current visit to Oman on his way to visiting Russia.

The report said he was expected to be back in Islamabad on Sunday and would join other members of his delegation who had gone to Tehran for consultations and "instructions on the topics related to the end of the war."

via AP

Iran war news LIVE: Lebanese state media reported a series of new Israeli strikes in the country's south on Saturday night, after attacks earlier in the day killed six people despite a recently extended ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah

The new attacks followed orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to "forcefully attack Hezbollah targets" after the army accused it of breaching the truce.

Lebanon's health ministry had said earlier that "Israeli enemy strikes on a truck and a motorbike in the town of Yohmor al-Shaqeef in the Nabatieh district killed four people".

Another attack "on the town of Safad al-Battikh, in the Bint Jbeil district, resulted in two fatalities and 17 injuries", it reported.

via AFP

Iran war news LIVE: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone on Saturday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, holding what he described as a “warm and constructive discussion” on the evolving regional situation.

In a post on X, Sharif said he appreciated Iran’s continued engagement, including the dispatch of a high-level delegation to Islamabad led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

He added that, with the support of friends and partners, Pakistan remains committed to serving as an “honest and sincere facilitator” to advance durable peace and lasting stability in the region.

Iran war news LIVE: President Donald Trump sent a direct message to New York Post reporter Caitlin Doornbos in Islamabad, urging her to “Come home!!!” This is after the abrupt cancellation of a planned U.S. delegation's visit to Pakistan. The abrupt action corresponds with reports that diplomatic momentum has slowed following early optimism about a possible accord and that negotiations with Iran have reached a roadblock.

Trump announced Saturday afternoon in a Truth Social post saying that too much time was being "wasted" on travel.

“I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going [to] Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians,” the president wrote. Read full story here

Iran war news LIVE: US President Donald Trump heeped praise on Pakistan's military and political leadership amid its efforts to mediate talks between Iran and the US. “Pakistan is terrific. I think the field marshal is fantastic, and I think the prime minister of Pakistan is great,” he said.

Iran war news LIVE: Trump claimed that there is ‘tremendous infighting inside Iran’ . “They are probably fighting for leadership,” Trump told Fox News. In another post on Truth Social, he said that no one knows who is the incharge of Iran, hinting at leadership crisis in war-ravaged Iran.

Iran war news LIVE: After calling off envoys' Pakistan trip for talks with Iran, US President Donald Trump said, “If Iran wants, they can call me; we have all the cards. We won everything.”

Iran war news LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Saturday downplayed speculation about a possible resumption of conflict with Iran after he cancelled the scheduled visit of the US delegation, led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Senior Adviser and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, to Islamabad for talks with the Islamic Republic for the second round of peace talks aimed at achieving a comprehensive resolution to hostilities in West Asia.

According to a report by Axios, Trump said that he, along with his administration, hasn't thought about if US would resume the conflict with Iran after the much-anticipated second round of talks did not come to fruition.

When asked by Axios whether the move of cancelling the trip signalled a return to war, Trump clarified: "No. It doesn't mean that. We haven't thought about it yet."

The US President also defended his decision to call off the trip to Islamabad for discussions with Iranian officials.

"I see no point of sending them on an 18 hour flight in the current situation [of the negotiations]. It's too long. We can do it just as well by telephone. The Iranians can call us if they want. We are not going to travel just to sit there," Trump said, as quoted by Axios.

Iran war news LIVE: Soon after telling Fox News that he had directed US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to go to Pakistan, Trump said in a social media post, “I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going is Islamabad.”

He wrote in the subsequent post, “Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work!”

In a brief phone interview, Trump told Fox News that he told U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, “You’re not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around talking about nothing.”

via AP

Iran war news LIVE: Pakistani authorities on Saturday evening began easing restrictions following the departure of an Iranian delegation and a U.S. decision not to send its delegation to Islamabad for potential talks, offering relief to hundreds of thousands of residents after nearly a week of near-lockdown conditions.

The developments signal a setback to Pakistan’s efforts to host a second round of talks.

The Islamabad administration said in a post on the social platform X that entry of all types of public and goods transport has been allowed. It added that bus terminals across the capital have reopened, except for a key terminal on the city’s outskirts, which will remain closed until further notice.

The move is expected to improve the supply of fruit, vegetables and other essential items in the capital.

Iran war news LIVE: Iran’s joint military command warned in a statement Saturday that if the US continues its “naval blockades, banditry, and piracy in the region,” it will provoke a decisive military response from Iran.

The statement, carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, added that if the U.S. and Israel renewed their aggression, they would face more losses.

It remains unclear whether Iran and the US will resume negotiations soon. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan, the key mediator in the negotiations between the two countries, a few hours ago, with no immediate word on possible resumption of talks. Shortly after, Trump said in a social media post that he called off sending U.S. envoys to Pakistan for negotiations.

Iran war news LIVE: Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Saturday said that their “definitive strategy” was the control over Strait of Hormuz.

“Controlling the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining the shadow of its deterrent effects over America and the White House's supporters in the region is the definitive strategy of Islamic Iran,” AFP cited the Guards as saying on their official Telegram channel.

Iran war news LIVE: US President Donald Trump said “nobody knows who is in charge” in Iran, after he announced cancelling the US envoys' trip to Islamabad.

Iran foreign minister Abbas Araghchi earlier today met with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir in Islamabad, and departed from Pakistan's Capital soon after.

“There is tremendous infighting and confusion within their 'leadership.' Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Iran war news LIVE: Iran foreign minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday said Tehran was “yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy.” “Very fruitful visit to Pakistan, whose good offices and brotherly efforts to bring back peace to our region we very much value,” Araghchi said in a post on X after he departed from Islamabad.

“Shared Iran's position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran. Have yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy,” he added.

Iran war news LIVE: US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he had cancelled US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's visit to Pakistan's Islamabad.

This came after Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi departed from Pakistan earlier today, after having conveyed Tehran's demands and reservations regarding the US terms.

Iran war news LIVE: The Israeli military issued a statement Saturday claiming four Hezbollah fighters had been killed in its attacks on southern Lebanon.

This comes after Lebanon's health ministry said four people were killed in an Israeli attack on the town of Yohmor al-Shaqif. It is unclear whether Israel and Lebanon are referring to the same attack.

Iran war news LIVE: The death toll from Israeli strikes in Lebanon rose to 2,496, the country's health ministry announced on Saturday. 7,725 others were injured in the attacks, the ministry said in its report, according to Al Jazeera.