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Live Updates: Witkoff, Kushner set to head to Pakistan for Iran peace talks today - CBS News
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to head to Islamabad Saturday for Iran peace talks, although it is unclear if direct talks with Iran will take place.
What to know about the Iran war today:
- U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had been expected to head to Islamabad Saturday for Iran peace talks, but President Trump said he canceled the trip.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Islamabad for Oman on Saturday after his delegation met for about 20 hours with senior Pakistani officials. He was expected to return Sunday or Monday.
- Mr. Trump said the ceasefire proposal from Iran "offered a lot, but not enough," and reiterated that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon.
Iran's president tells U.S. to end blockade, state media says
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country won't negotiate while the United States imposes a blockade on its ports, according to Iranian media.
Pezeshkian told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a phone call Saturday night that the U.S. "should first remove operational obstacles, including the blockade," to allow a new round of negotiations, the ISNA and Tasnim news agencies reported.
The Pakistani premier described the call as a "warm and constructive discussion."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi concluded a one-day trip to Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Saturday after meeting with Pakistani military and government officials.
The trip did not produce a breakthrough in efforts to relaunch negotiations after U.S. President Trump canceled a planned trip by his envoys to Islamabad.
U.S. Navy clearing Iranian mines from Strait of Hormuz
President Trump says the U.S. Navy is clearing Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz. The vital sea route for Persian Gulf oil is closed to most ships, putting strain on the global economy.
Experts say sweeping for underwater explosives could take months despite a tenuous ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
New strikes reported in Lebanon
Lebanese state media reported a series of new Israeli strikes in the country's south on Saturday night, after attacks earlier in the day killed six people despite a recently extended ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The new attacks followed orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to "forcefully attack Hezbollah targets" after the army accused it of breaching the truce.
Lebanon's health ministry said Israeli strikes on a truck and a motorbike in the town of Yohmor al-Shaqeef killed four people, and an attack on the town of Safad al-Battikh killed two and injured 17.
Israel's military said it "eliminated" three Hezbollah operatives on Saturday who were driving "a vehicle loaded with weapons," as well as another one riding a motorcycle, and two more armed members of the group elsewhere.
It also said it identified two projectiles launched from Lebanon, decrying "a blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings" by Hezbollah, and later intercepted another "suspicious aerial target."
Hezbollah, meanwhile, said it targeted an Israeli army vehicle in south Lebanon in retaliation for the attack on Yohmor al-Shaqeef.
Following Netanyahu's order to attack the group, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported a pair of strikes in quick succession in a town in Bint Jbeil district, another on a town in Tyre district, and strikes on two more towns in Nabatieh district.
The Israeli military said that it had "struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure used for military purposes across southern Lebanon", and would "continue to operate decisively against threats."
U.S. chopper intercepts sanctioned merchant vessel in Arabian Sea, CENTCOM says
The U.S. military Saturday intercepted a sanctioned merchant vessel in the Arabian Sea, U.S. Central Command said.
The M/V Sevan was intercepted by a U.S. Navy helicopter from the guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney, said CENTCOM, which is responsible for U.S. military operations in the Middle East.
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