American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are traveling to Pakistan for a second round of negotiations aimed at resolving the conflict between the United States and Iran, the White House confirmed. The talks will be indirect, with Islamabad serving as an intermediary to convey Iranian proposals to the American side, rather than hosting direct face-to-face meetings between U.S. and Iranian officials.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Islamabad on Friday to consult with Pakistani officials on what the country's foreign ministry described as "ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability." Iranian state television reported that Araghchi had no plans to meet directly with Witkoff or Kushner, and an Iranian spokesman said the foreign minister would subsequently travel to Oman and Russia to continue diplomatic efforts. Tehran's defense ministry struck a defiant tone, stating that "the enemy is looking for a face-saving way to escape the war quagmire it has become trapped in," while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Friday that "the Iranians want to talk" and "they want to talk in person."

The diplomatic activity comes against a backdrop of significant damage to Iran's infrastructure following American and Israeli strikes. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged citizens to sharply curtail electricity use, telling the public through state television, "Instead of turning on 10 lights at home, turn on two lights," and blaming the U.S. and Israel for destroying the country's energy infrastructure. He also cited a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports as compounding the country's economic strain.

Iran resumed limited commercial air travel Saturday for the first time since hostilities began, with flights departing Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport to Istanbul, Muscat, and Medina following a partial reopening of Iranian airspace under a ceasefire. The Strait of Hormuz remains a focal point of tension, with Chevron CEO Mike Wirth saying the U.S. Navy would likely need to escort commercial vessels through the critical waterway once it reopens. The strait has been effectively closed by a combination of Iran's threats and the U.S. port blockade, prompting several maritime incidents in recent days.

In a separate development connected to the broader regional tensions, the State Department announced late Friday that Kuwaiti-American journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin had been released from detention in Kuwait following intervention by the Trump administration. The department offered no further details, citing privacy concerns. The outcome of the Pakistan talks is expected to shape the next phase of diplomacy, with both sides signaling willingness to negotiate while maintaining sharply divergent public postures.