Iran foreign minister in Islamabad for peace talks
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 25 April 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Iranian foreign minister Arras Araghchi is in Islamabad today to discuss peace between his country and the US. Donald Trump’s foreign policy advisors Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are travelling to Pakistan’s capital later to do the same. The Iranian foreign ministry, however, has said no direct talks with the US are planned. The BBC’s Pakistan correspondent gives us the latest.
Also in the programme: Explosions and gunfire in Mali as armed groups launch coordinated attacks.
(Photo: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, 17th February 2026. Credit: Reuters/Pierre Albouy TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
This programme has been edited since transmission due to rights.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.3 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:12.9 | We're broadcasting live from London. I'm Sean Lay. |
| 0:16.1 | With explosions and sustained gunfire in Marley's capital Bamako on Saturday, we'll have the latest. |
| 0:22.2 | That's in half an hour's time here on NewsHour. |
| 0:24.8 | But first, it was on a Saturday a fortnight ago that representatives from Iran and the United States |
| 0:30.3 | met in Islamabad, Pakistan, to discuss ways of ending the war. |
| 0:34.5 | Since then, though, the pace of progress has been glacial. |
| 0:37.8 | Tuesday's plan meeting was cancelled because of Iran's objection to the US blockade of Iranian ports |
| 0:43.1 | intended to force Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz to international trade. |
| 0:48.8 | Iran's foreign minister Arasarachi is in Pakistan's capital, President Trump's foreign policy |
| 0:53.4 | advisers, his son-in-law |
| 0:54.6 | Jared Kushner and his old friend Steve Whitkoff are traveling later Saturday. |
| 0:59.6 | Caroline Levitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters on Friday that the Americans |
| 1:03.6 | were traveling at Iran's request. |
| 1:06.3 | The Iranians want to talk. |
| 1:08.1 | They want to talk in person. |
| 1:09.3 | And so the president is, as I've said, |
| 1:11.2 | many, many times to all of you, always willing to give diplomacy a chance. So Steve and Jared |
| 1:15.8 | will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out. We hope progress will be made and we |
| 1:21.0 | hope that positive developments will come from this meeting. And we will see. And the president, |
| 1:26.2 | the vice president, the secretary of state will be |
... |
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