NPR | Friday, April 24, 2026 
U.S. and Iranian envoys head back to Pakistan for a new round of peace talks

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — The White House has confirmed that special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are planning to travel to Pakistan Saturday for a new round of direct talks with Iran. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed he will also be visiting Islamabad, where Pakistan hosted direct talks between the U.S. and Iran earlier this month. The news came the same day that Israel’s military said it attacked southern Lebanon targeting sites belonging to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and the militant group fired rockets into Israel. That was despite President Trump’s announcement that Israel and Lebanon agreed during White House talks Thursday to extend the ceasefire by three weeks. Hezbollah was not involved and has opposed the negotiations. The shaky Israel-Lebanon ceasefire is linked to broader U.S. efforts to draw its war with Iran to a close that could see movement in Pakistan. Tehran has insisted that the fighting in Lebanon remain paused as a precondition for further peace talks with the United States. Trump unilaterally extended the ceasefire with Iran this week, hours before it was set to expire, without indicating a new expiration date. Iran has dismissed that extension as “meaningless,” saying the continued U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports is a violation of the deal and that the Iranian delegation will not return to the negotiating table until the blockade is lifted…Read more