White House: Iran Reaches Out for Direct Talks

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The White House confirmed on Friday that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan on Saturday for a new round of direct talks with Iranian representatives, following a formal request from Tehran for face-to-face negotiations — a development the Trump administration welcomed as a sign of progress toward a potential deal.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the announcement in remarks to Fox News, confirming that the initiative came from Iran itself.

"The Iranians reached out, as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation," Leavitt said, adding that President Trump was dispatching Witkoff and Kushner "to go and hear what they have to say."

Pakistan is serving as the host and mediator for the talks, a role Leavitt praised effusively. "The Pakistanis have been incredible friends and mediators throughout this entire process," she said.

Trump's red lines

Leavitt was careful to signal that Washington is entering the talks with defined limits, even as it projects a willingness to engage.

"President Trump has made his red lines throughout this entire process very clear," she said, while noting that he had shown flexibility by extending the ceasefire ahead of this latest round.

The dispatch of Witkoff and Kushner follows earlier rounds of discussions in Islamabad that ended without agreement, though diplomatic channels have remained active throughout.

The deployment of two senior envoys reflects a calibrated US strategy — maintaining high-level engagement while preserving room for further escalation in diplomatic representation depending on how the negotiations unfold.

The outcome of Saturday's talks remains uncertain, though both sides appear to be moving toward a more substantive exchange.