Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump has cancelled a planned trip by two officials - envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner - to Pakistan for talks on the Iran war. Here's a recap.

No diplomatic breakthrough between US and Iran

• Earlier this afternoon, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi left Pakistan after what he described as "very fruitful" talks with Pakistani officials - but said he is "yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy"
• The White House yesterday said it was sending two advisers to Pakistan for talks too - but shortly after Araghchi departed for Oman, Donald Trump announced that he had cancelled the plans
• In a post on Truth Social, he said: "We have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!"
• Pakistan's prime minister said the country remains a "committed" mediator, and Iranian state media reports Araghchi is set to return to Islamabad on Sunday

Israel orders strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon

• Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has ordered the military to "vigorously attack" what he called Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
• Lebanon's state-run National News Agency has already reported a number of strikes in the south of the country on Saturday evening
• Both Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly accused each other of violating a ceasefire deal, which Trump said was extended just a few days ago

• President Trump wants the ceasefire to continue, so it may be that this doesn't signal a full-scale return to war, but it’s an indication of how precarious the situation is, our correspondent writes

We're now pausing our live coverage - you can read more in our news story.

Image source, Centcom

The US military's Central Command (Centcom) says the US has intercepted an Iranian "shadow fleet" vessel carrying "billions of dollars worth of Iranian energy, oil and gas products" to foreign markets.

In a post on X, Centcom says the M/V Sevan was "intercepted in the Arabian Sea by a U.S. Navy helicopter" earlier today, and is now "complying with U.S. military direction to turn back to Iran under escort".

It was among 19 "shadow fleet" vessels sanctioned by the Treasury department yesterday, Centcom adds.

Earlier this month, US forces announced they would intercept or turn back vessels travelling to or from Iran's coast. Centcom says US forces continue to "fully implement the blockade" of Iranian ports.

In the last hour, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) has reported a number of Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.

It includes strikes in the districts of Bint Jbeil, Tyre, and Nabatieh, NNA says.

It comes shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the military to "vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon".

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says earlier today it struck what it calls "Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure used for military purposes across southern Lebanon".

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Iran's state broadcaster IRNA says Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is set to visit Pakistan again after his trip to Oman, before he travels to Russia.

Citing a plan announced by Iran's foreign ministry, it adds that part of the Iranian delegation has returned to Tehran to consult on the necessary issues related to ending the war.

Delegates will then rejoin Aragchi in Islamabad on Sunday night, IRNA reports. It doesn't explicitly say what they will be discussing or who they will be meeting with.

As a reminder, the foreign minister only left Pakistan a few hours ago. He described talks with Pakistani officials as "very fruitful" but he has "yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy".

Peace talks left in limbo after Trump cancels US trip to Islamabadpublished at 21:14 BST 25 April

21:14 BST 25 April

Peter Bowes
North America correspondent

As blunt as ever, US President Donald Trump has called off that delegation to Pakistan to potentially discuss directly with Iran.

It leaves us somewhat in limbo in terms of what happens next.

We've been led to believe over the last few days that diplomatic discussions have been going on behind the scenes.

But in terms of any future direct negotiations of the kind we saw two weeks ago, that does not seem to be on the cards for the time being.

The kind of mood music we've been hearing from the White House over the last few days has been that they are in no mood to make a quick deal.

"We have all the time in the world", said Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary on Friday, and that may well be the case - but I think a lot of Trump's traditional supporters will disagree.

Image source, EPA

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif says the country remains "committed" to acting as a mediator between Washington and Tehran.

His comments come after US President Donald Trump cancelled his envoys' trip to Pakistan for talks on the war with Iran.

Sharif says he had a "warm and constructive" phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the "evolving regional situation" after he met Iran's foreign minister in Islamabad earlier.

He adds in a statement on X that Pakistan "remains committed to serve as an honest and sincere facilitator - working tirelessly to advance durable peace and lasting stability in the region".

Jon Donnison
Reporting from Jerusalem

As we've been reporting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered his military to "vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon".

What we have between Israel and Hezbollah at the moment has been called a ceasefire, but in fact it’s been a reduction in fire.

Today’s short statement from Netanyahu came after further cross border exchanges between the two sides.

Israel continues to occupy much of southern Lebanon and has been carrying out large scale demolitions there.

President Trump wants the ceasefire to continue, so it may be that the Israeli Prime Minister’s remarks do not signal a full-scale return to war.

But it’s an indication of how precarious the situation is.

Image source, Reuters

We can bring you more from Donald Trump's comments to the media following the decision to cancel Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner's trip to Pakistan for talks.

Trump says the US is willing to talk to "whoever's running the show" in Iran, adding that "they can call us any time they want".

"I'll deal with whoever we have to, but there's no reason to wait two days, have people travelling for 16, 17 hours and we're not doing it that way", he adds.

US President Donald Trump has just spoken to reporters before he departs for Washington.

Trump says the decision to cancel his envoys' trip to Islamabad was due to "too much travel", adding that the US has "all the cards".

He says nothing has changed in recent days, and the US delegation was not going to travel that far "without a plan".

"Too much travelling, takes too long, too expensive. I'm a very cost conscious person", he adds.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to "vigorously attack Hezbollah targets in Lebanon", a statement from his office says.

On Saturday the IDF has issued a number of statements on Telegram accusing Hezbollah of violating a ceasefire agreed between Israel and Lebanon.

Both Israel and Hezbollah have repeatedly accused one another violating the ceasefire.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

While we've been focusing on diplomacy betwen between Iran and the US, Israel's military says it is continuing to strike Hezbollah structures across southern Lebanon.

In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says: "The sites were struck in order to remove a threat to IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, following Hezbollah’s use of these structures to carry out attacks against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel".

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon would be extended by three weeks. Both Israel and Hezbollah have accused each other of violating the ceasefire deal.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

The mounting speculation this week about possible US-Iran talks in Islamabad looks like it has failed to bear fruit.

Pakistan - which has been acting as a mediator - has for days shut down sections of its capital in preparation for talks, but US President Donald Trump has just cancelled his envoys' visit. Here's a reminder of how things unfolded:

11 April: Senior US and Iranian officials meet in Pakistan for talks which last over 21 hours but end without agreement, despite both sides reporting progress.

19 April: US President Donald Trump says his representatives will return to Pakistan for talks. However, this does not happen, as Iran says it's not yet decided whether to take part.

21 April: Trump agrees to extend the ceasefire with Iran for an unspecified time so negotiations can continue.

24 April: The White House says US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will head to Islamabad on Saturday for further talks with Iran. Iran's foreign minister arrives in Islamabad for talks with Pakistan, but an Iranian official says no negotiations with the US are planned

25 April: Iran's foreign minister holds talks with Pakistan's prime minister and army chief in Islamabad, but departs for Oman with no announcement made about when Trump's envoys might arrive. Shortly after, Trump says he's cancelled Witkoff and Kushner's trip.

Morgan Gisholt Minard
Reporting from Mar-a-Lago

Those of us in the press pool are waiting just outside the gates to President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on a hot and sunny day here in Florida.

We expect to see him for the first time today when we board Air Force One with him in the next few hours.

Trump is currently attending a cryptocurrency event at Mar-a-Lago, where he is scheduled to speak. But he’s also been busy fielding calls and confirming to various media outlets his decision to cancel his team's planned trip to Islamabad.

In an exchange with a reporter from the New York Post who is currently in Islamabad reporting on the talks, the president reportedly sent her a text message telling her to “Come home!!!”

Not a great sign for those holding out hope that the trip could be resurrected in the coming days.

Clear how difficult getting both sides back to the negotiating table has becomepublished at 18:02 BST 25 April

18:02 BST 25 April

Carrie Davies
BBC Pakistan correspondent, reporting from Islamabad

It’s been a day of back and forth in Islamabad. With the Iranian foreign minister gone and the American delegation cancelled, what happens next?

There’s been speculation about what might have been relayed during meetings between the Iranian and Pakistani officials.

President Trump had extended the ceasefire to allow Iran to create a ‘unified proposal’. Could Iran have passed on their demands to Pakistan during this trip? We don’t know.

What is clear is how fractious and difficult the process of trying to get the two sides back to the negotiating table face to face has become.

Pakistan has presented itself as a bridge to keep dialogue going.

That role is looking increasingly difficult.

The Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has just arrived in Muscat, Oman, according to a statement from his office.

Araghchi departed Islamabad a short while ago, having concluded talks with Pakistani officials.

In a post on X, Araghchi describes his visit to Pakistan as "very fruitful".

He says he "shared Iran's position concerning workable framework to permanently end the war on Iran", but has "yet to see if the US is truly serious about diplomacy".

US President Donald Trump has confirmed he's cancelled his envoys' trip to Islamabad.

In a post on Truth Social he says: "I just cancelled the trip of my representatives going is 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!!!"

Trip cancellation a sign of how far apart the sides arepublished at 17:23 BST 25 April

17:23 BST 25 April

Joe Inwood
World news correspondent

There had been little hope for any diplomatic breakthroughs this weekend. Now, what little there was is gone entirely.

The proposed US delegation, led by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, already lacked the weight of the vice-president. JD Vance was “on standby”, but was not going to be initially involved.

The fact that even the lower-level team have now cancelled their trip is a sign of how far apart the sides are.

Speaking yesterday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said "we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting” - despite the fact Tehran had flatly denied any meeting was even planned.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did travel to Pakistan - which has been mediating - but only for bilateral talks with the hosts. His statements after that meeting didn’t give much, if anything, away, but they did give the sense that Iran has not shifted dramatically from its previous positions.

As well as thanking his Pakistani hosts, he said he set out Iran’s “views and considerations” and expressed “readiness to continue Pakistan's mediation efforts until a result is achieved". In short, we’re ready to negotiate, but don’t expect capitulation.

The primary sticking point seems to remain the Strait of Hormuz, that crucial waterway which both sides are now partially blockading. The fact that an issue that was not even on the agenda before the war started is now front and centre, suggests that a lasting resolution to this war is a long way away.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

We can bring you Donald Trump's full comments to Fox News now.

The outlet says the US president told its White House correspondent: "I've told my people, a little while go they were getting ready to leave and I said 'nope, you're not going to make an 18-hour flight to go there'

"We have all the cards, they can call us any time they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18-hour flights to sit around and talk about nothing."

When asked for comment by the BBC's US partner CBS News, the White House deferred to Trump's quote to Fox News.

Donald Trump tells Fox News that envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will no longer be heading to Pakistan for talks, the news outlet reports.

It quotes the president as saying: "We have all the cards. They can call us anytime they want, but you're not going to be making any more 18 hour flights to sit around talking about nothing."

The BBC's US media partner CBS News reports that Pakistani officials expect Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to return to Islamabad on Sunday or Monday.

He is currently on his way to the Omani capital Muscat, after leaving Islamabad earlier, it adds.