Trump says Iran will make offer that aims to meet U.S. demands: Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on April 21. [AP/YONHAP]

 
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran will make an offer aimed at meeting U.S. demands, a report said, as key negotiators plan to depart for Pakistan this weekend to engage in direct talks with Iran.
 
ring a phone interview with Reuters, Trump made the remarks without elaborating on the offer. His administration has sought to secure Iran's firm commitment not to seek a nuclear weapon and its pledge to hand over its enriched uranium stockpile, among others.
 

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“They're making an offer and we'll have to see," Trump was quoted as saying.
 
Earlier this week, Trump extended a cease-fire with Iran until Tehran submits a "unified" peace proposal, as his administration believes that the Tehran government struggles with internal division between hard-liners and moderates, which has made it difficult to make a coherent response.
 
When asked who Washington was negotiating with, the president said that the United States is "dealing with the people that are in charge now."
 
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, plan to head to Pakistan on Saturday to engage in talks mediated by Pakistan, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
 
However, Iran's state media reported that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has no scheduled meeting with the United States in Islamabad, Reuters reported. Araghchi has arrived in Pakistan as part of a multination trip that will also take him to Muscat and Moscow.
 

U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran as Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for Peace Missions, listen, on Sunday, April 1, in Islamabad, Pakistan. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

 
“The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person. And the president is... always willing to give diplomacy a chance. So Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out," Leavitt told reporters.
 
“We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting," she added.
 
Earlier, she told Fox News that Iran reached out and asked for the in-person talks with the United States.
 
Asked if the U.S. delegation's planned departure for Pakistan signals the United States has received a unified proposal from Iran, Leavitt pointed out "some progress" from the Islamic Republic.
 
“We've certainly seen some progress from the Iranian side in the last couple of days," she said. "Again, the president has made the decision to send Steve and Jared to hear the Iranians out, and so we'll see what they have to say."
 
Vice President JD Vance will stay in the United States, Leavitt said. Vance joined the first round of negotiations with Iran on April 11 and 12.
 
“The president, the vice president, the secretary of state, will be waiting here in the U.S. for updates," she said. "The vice president, I understand, is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it's a necessary use of his time."
 
It remains unclear whether Washington and Tehran can make a breakthrough in their future negotiations, where the U.S. delegation is expected to seek a firm commitment by Iran to renounce its nuclear ambitions. 

Yonhap