Witkoff and Kushner to meet Iranian foreign minister in Pakistan: White House

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to travel to Pakistan on Saturday for negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, the White House said.Iranian state media denied that any meeting had been scheduled.Why it matters: While President Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran, the diplomatic efforts haven't made any progress in recent days. The planned trip is an effort to break the stalemate and build momentum for a deal before Trump goes back to exploring military options.What they're saying: "The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person and the president is always willing to give diplomacy a chance," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House on Friday."We hope progress will be made and we hope that positive development will come from this meeting. We have certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last few days."The other side: Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that no meeting had been scheduled between Araghchi and Trump's envoys. Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, also denied any direct talks between Araghchi and the U.S. envoys were planned at the moment.Driving the news: Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday night for talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir.A Pakistani official told Axios that the meeting with Araghchi will focus on relaunching negotiations with the Trump administration. "A trilateral meeting with the U.S. will be assessed after our meeting with Araghchi," the Pakistani official said. IRNA said Araghchi would convey Iran's position about the current state of the war.Araghchi is expected to travel from Islamabad to Muscat, Oman, and then to Moscow, so it's unclear when he will meet the U.S. envoys.Two sources said the meeting between the U.S. envoys and Araghchi could take place on Monday, after Kushner and Witkoff hold separate bilateral talks with the Pakistani mediators. CNN first reported Witkoff and Kushner's planned trip.Behind the scenes: Vice President JD Vance, who led the U.S. negotiating team in the previous round, will not make the trip. The U.S. officials said that's because his counterpart, Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, won't travel with Araghchi.A U.S. official and a source with knowledge said Ghalibaf grew frustrated with the infighting in the Iranian leadership after the previous round of talks, and even threatened to step aside. It's unclear if he's still the lead Iranian negotiator."He was talking to other officials in Iran about resignation and considering it, but he has not done it yet," the source with knowledge said. What to watch: The U.S. officials said Vance will be on standby to travel to Pakistan if talks progress. He's expected to participate in phone calls with the team on the ground as needed.Vance's chief of staff and other members of his team will join Witkoff and Kushner in Pakistan, the U.S. officials said.