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WNAM REPORT: United States President Donald Trump said Thursday that he might visit Islamabad if a deal is reached there between the U.S. and Iran.
“I would go to Pakistan,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he would visit the country, which has played a mediating role between the U.S. and Iran, to seal the deal.
“Pakistan has been great. The Field Marshal (Syed Asim Munir) has been great. The Prime Minister (Shehbaz Sharif) has been really great in Pakistan so I might go.”
“They’ve been so good,” he continued. “If a deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go.”
Trump also said the two sides will “probably, maybe” resume in-person talks over the weekend.
“It’s looking very good that we’re going to make a deal with Iran and it’s going to be a good deal, it’s going to be a deal with no nuclear weapons,” Trump said. “We have a lot of agreement with Iran.”
Trump said he may not need to extend the current two-week ceasefire with Iran, which expires next week.
“We’re doing well, I can tell you,” Trump said. “I’m not sure it needs to be extended.”
The U.S. is currently enforcing a blockade on all Iranian ports as the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran is set to expire next week.
Talks to end the war between the two countries failed in Islamabad last week, but the U.S., Iran and Pakistan have remained in contact.
The Pakistani Foreign Office confirmed Thursday that Washington and Tehran were in touch through Pakistan to set up a second round of talks but said a date had not yet been decided on.
“Who will come, how big the delegation will be, who will stay, and who will go is for the parties to decide,” FO Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said, according to Al-Jazeera.
“As a mediator, it’s important for us to keep the talks confidential. We had the details and information of the talks entrusted to us by the negotiating parties,” he continued.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire after meeting in Washington. The development could be a positive step in talks between the U.S. and Iran.
Israel has launched a barrage of attacks on Lebanon since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, targeting the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah.
Iran and Pakistan said Lebanon was part of the initial ceasefire, but the U.S. and Israel argued it was not.
