US envoys head to Pakistan as Iran rules out direct talks

American envoys headed to the Pakistani capital on Saturday hoping to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations with Iran amid a fragile ceasefire, though the prospect of direct talks remains uncertain.

The White House said emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would engage in an "in-person conversation" with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said direct negotiations were not on the cards.

On Saturday, Iran resumed commercial flights from Tehran's international airport for the first time since the conflict with the US and Israel began two months ago. This followed the arrival in Islamabad of Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi who met twice with Pakistan's top military and political leaders. 

Doubts have emerged over the level of discussions as Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said Araghchi would meet only "Pakistani high-level officials". He added: "No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US. Iran's observations would be conveyed to Pakistan."

On Saturday, Araghchi met Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, along with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir.

Despite US President Donald Trump's announcement on Thursday of a three-week ceasefire extension in Lebanon, Israeli strikes in the south of the country killed six people on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said.

While Trump expressed confidence at the prospect of a lasting peace in Lebanon, sealing a deal to end the wider Middle East war is a thornier proposition, even as urgency mounts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Kushner were heading to Pakistan on Saturday "to engage in talks with representatives from the Iranian delegation".

Leavitt said Vice President JD Vance, who led a first round of negotiations in Islamabad two weeks ago that concluded without a deal, would not be joining for the time being, but was on "standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary."

Hormuz latest

Since the last round of talks, efforts to bring the two sides back to the table have hit an impasse, with Iran refusing to participate as long as a US naval blockade on its ports remained in place.

Iran has imposed a de facto blockade of its own on the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only a trickle of ships to pass through the vital waterway, throwing global energy markets into turmoil.

Oil prices slid on Friday amid hopes that fresh peace talks would see an end to Tehran's disruption of trade through the strait.

European Council President Antonio Costa said on Friday that the strait "must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling," adding it was "vital for the entire world."

Major Wall Street indices closed at fresh records on Friday as markets cheered the latest batch of earnings reports and US and Iranian officials headed to Pakistan.

On Saturday, Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced the country would send minesweeper ships to the Mediterranean. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Türkiye could also consider demining operations in the Strait with such efforts viewed "positively in principle as a humanitarian duty."

Lebanese tensions

The situation in Lebanon remained tense despite Trump's upbeat message over peace prospects after meeting with Israeli and Lebanese envoys, voicing hope for a three-way meeting with the Lebanese and Israeli leaders.

The two countries have been officially at war for decades and until last week had not met so directly since 1993.

Mohammed Raad, head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, urged the Lebanese government to withdraw from direct talks with Israel and warned a lasting peace deal of the kind sought by Trump "will in no way enjoy Lebanese national consensus".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to destroy Hezbollah, said: "We have started a process to reach a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and it's clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage this."