Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi meets Pak Army Chief Asim Munir as US team heads to Pakistan; Tehran denies direct talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday met Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir in Islamabad amid continued suspense over the second round of negotiations with the United States.

Araghchi said that the purpose of his visit is to “coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments” and that he will travel to Oman and Russia next.

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“Purpose of my visits is to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments. Our neighbors are our priority,” Araghchi wrote on X.

While Araghchi is in Pakistan, Iranian officials have said that there are no plans for a direct meeting between the negotiators of the US and Iran.

Ebrahim Azizi, the head of Iran’s national security committee, clarified that Araghchi has “no assignment related to nuclear talks” during his Pakistan visit.

Azizi stressed that the visit is “only for discussions on bilateral relations”, adding that talks about nuclear activity “remain one of Iran’s firm red lines”.

The US has been demanding Iran suspend its nuclear program, insisting that this should be part of any peace deal to end the war.

Witkoff, Kushner heading to Pakistan, Vance on standby

While Iran asserted that there will be no talks with the US during Araghchi’s visit, the White House has confirmed that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are also heading to Pakistan for Iran talks on Saturday.

US Vice-President JD Vance, who led the first round of talks with Iran, is reportedly on standby to join the US delegation.

Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump had claimed that Iran has made an offer and “we’ll have to see”.

Without giving much details about the purported offer, Trump further said that his team was negotiating “with the people who are in charge now”.