Donald Trump tried to “save face” on Saturday by announcing that he had canceled negotiations with Iranian leaders in Islamabad after they had already stood his envoys up and told the whole world they weren’t going to be there. Hours after they made that perfectly clear, Trump went on Truth Social to say: “I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going to Islamabad, Pakistan, to meet with the Iranians. Too much time wasted on traveling, too much work! Besides which, there is tremendous infighting and confusion within their ‘leadership.’ Nobody knows who is in charge, including them. Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!” Iranian officials remain unfazed by US theatrics Before heading back to Washington later on, Trump told reporters that the Islamabad trip made no sense because it involved “too much travel.” He said the US had “all the cards” and added that nothing had changed in recent days. He also said, “Too much travelling, takes too long, too expensive. I’m a very cost conscious person.” The president framed the cancelled trip as a cost and time issue, but the reality is, America needs this deal more than Iran. And the Iranians know that, so even though both sides claim they want peace, Iran isn’t willing to be pushed around for it. They’ve made clear what they want in negotiations, and they aren’t budging on a single one. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were the US envoys expected to travel. The White House had said on April 24 that both men would go to Islamabad on Saturday for more talks with Iran. On the same day, Iran’s foreign minister arrived in Pakistan for meetings, but an Iranian official said there were no scheduled negotiations with the US. That killed the mood fast. Pakistan had been acting as the mediator and had even closed parts of its capital for days to prepare for possible talks. But by April 25, Iran’s foreign minister had already met Pakistan’s prime minister and the country’s army chief, then left for Oman without any announcement about when Trump’s team would arrive. On April 11, senior US and Iranian officials met in Pakistan for more than 21 hours, but of course, no deal came out of it, though both sides said the talks had made progress. Then on April 19, Trump said his representatives would return to Pakistan, but the plan stalled after Iran said it had not decided whether it would join. On April 21, Trump agreed to extend the ceasefire with Iran for an open-ended period, so diplomacy could continue. Four days later, the talks were still floating in the air. While attending a cryptocurrency event at Mar-a-Lago, where he was due to speak, Trump spent the day taking calls and confirming to media outlets that the trip was off. A New York Post reporter who was in Islamabad covering the expected talks reportedly got a text from Trump telling her, “Come home!!!” That pretty much told the story. The table was set, the room was ready, and the main event did not happen. Israel strikes Hezbollah sites while the Strait of Hormuz keeps oil markets nervous The failed US-Iran push landed while Israel was hitting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israel Defense Forces to “vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon,” his office said. The IDF also posted several Telegram updates on Saturday, accusing Hezbollah of breaking the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel have each accused the other side of violating that same agreement, so yes, another ceasefire is already sitting in the usual Middle East paperwork shredder. While attention stayed on Trump, Iran, and the missing Islamabad talks, the IDF said it was still striking Hezbollah-linked buildings in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military said the targets were used to threaten IDF troops and Israeli civilians. Earlier this week, Trump said the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire would be extended by three weeks. That extension is now running beside fresh strikes and new claims from both sides. Trump said the US Navy is clearing Iranian mines from Iran’s waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about 20% of the world’s oil. If you want a calmer entry point into DeFi crypto without the usual hype, start with this free video.
