President Donald Trump made it clear this weekend that the United States isn’t in the business of chasing bad deals—or wasting time on pointless flights halfway across the world. In a decisive move, Trump canceled the planned trip to Pakistan by U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who were set to engage in another round of talks with Iran.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Fox News, Trump didn’t mince words. The 18-hour رحلة? Not happening.
“I told my people… ‘Nope, you’re not making an 18-hour flight to go there,’” Trump said. “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.”
That’s what leadership sounds like—knowing when to engage and when to walk away. A concept that, let’s be honest, hasn’t always been popular in Washington.
The now-canceled trip would have marked the second round of negotiations with Iran, scheduled to take place in Pakistan as part of Operation Epic Fury. Instead, Trump is flipping the script: if Iran wants to talk, they know where to find the United States.
And according to Trump, Iran has bigger problems right now anyway.
In a post on Truth Social, the president described Iran’s leadership as being in “tremendous infighting and confusion,” adding that “nobody knows who is in charge, including them.” Not exactly the kind of stability you want on the other side of a negotiation table.
So rather than sending top officials across the globe to negotiate with what appears to be a divided and uncertain regime, Trump is choosing to hold firm—and let Iran come to the table when it’s ready.
It’s a strategy rooted in strength, not desperation. While others might rush into endless talks just for the optics, this approach sends a clear message: the United States negotiates from power, not from a position of need.
And as the situation unfolds, one thing is certain—America isn’t waiting around.