White House plays down reports of possible US-Iran talks in Pakistan: 'Sensitive discussions'

The White House on Tuesday downplayed the reports of possible US-Iran talks in Pakistan, saying any such diplomatic engagement would be formally announced.

“These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the United States will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said when asked about reports that Vice President JD Vance and senior advisers could meet Iranian officials in Islamabad this week.

Her remarks followed a Financial Times report that Pakistan is positioning itself as a mediator between the United States, Israel and Iran, proposing Islamabad as a venue for potential talks involving senior figures from the Trump administration and Tehran.

The report, citing officials familiar with the discussions, said Pakistan’s military chief Gen. Asim Munir had spoken with President Donald Trump on Sunday, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian a day later.

The flurry of diplomatic contacts comes amid signs of a possible pause in hostilities.

Trump said Monday that the United States and Iran had held “very good and productive” discussions over the past two days on a potential resolution to the conflict.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said he had ordered a five-day delay in any US military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, citing the “tenor and tone” of ongoing talks. He said further decisions would depend on progress in negotiations.

It was not immediately clear whether Pakistan’s mediation efforts were directly linked to the apparent breakthrough Trump referred to.

Iran, however, has publicly denied holding direct talks with Washington since the conflict began.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran had received messages from the United States through “friendly states” requesting negotiations.

“Over the past few days, messages were received via certain friendly states conveying the US request for negotiations to end the war,” Esmaeil Baqaei, the foreign ministry’s spokesperson, told official news agency IRNA. “Appropriate responses were given [to those initiatives] in accordance with the country’s fundamental positions.”

Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf dismissed reports of direct negotiations as “fake news,” accusing the United States and Israel of attempting to influence financial and oil markets.