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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan on Saturday morning for another round of talks with Iranian representatives.<\/span><\/p>\n Leavitt said the discussions will be direct but facilitated by Pakistani intermediaries, whom she described as \u201cincredible friends\u201d throughout the negotiation process. According to Leavitt, Iranian officials requested the in-person meeting after President Donald Trump publicly called for talks.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe president is dispatching Steve and Jared to go hear what they have to say,\u201d Leavitt said. \u201cWe\u2019re hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward toward a deal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The announcement comes as a second round of negotiations has yet to take place following lengthy talks earlier this month, which ended without an agreement after Iranian officials refused to concede on key aspects of their nuclear program.<\/span><\/p>\n Vice President JD Vance, who led the previous round of discussions, said at the time that the United States had presented what he described as its \u201cfinal and best offer,\u201d but Tehran declined to accept the terms.<\/span><\/p>\n According to <\/span>CNN<\/span><\/a>, Vance is not expected to attend this latest round of talks because Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran\u2019s parliament and a senior figure seen by White House officials as leading Tehran\u2019s delegation, is also not participating. Vance is expected to remain on standby and could travel to Islamabad if negotiations show signs of progress.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite not making a deal, Trump extended the two-week long ceasefire without an agreement while waiting for what he called a \u201cunified\u201d response from the Iranian government.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump has made his red lines throughout this entire process very clear. He was flexible in extending the ceasefire, and so Steve and Jared will be off,\u201d Leavitt said.<\/span><\/p>\n The diplomatic push comes as Iran\u2019s internal power structure appears increasingly unstable under the son and successor to former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.<\/span><\/p>\n The new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is reportedly recovering from severe injuries and has been largely sidelined from day-to-day governance while hardline military generals are holding significant power, <\/span>according to<\/span><\/a> a report from The New York Times.<\/span><\/p>\n