Iran live updates: Witkoff, Kushner to travel to Islamabad Saturday for peace talks

During a gaggle with reporters Friday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that while President ‌Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan this weekend, it's still possible for Vice President JD Vance to be dispatched, too.

“The vice president, I understand, is on standby and will be willing to dispatch to Pakistan if we feel it's a necessary use of his time,” Leavitt said.

“We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting, and we will see,” she added.

“The Iranians want to talk. They want to talk in person,” Leavitt said, and Trump is “always willing to give diplomacy a chance.”

-ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr, Emily Chang and Michelle Stoddart

President ‌Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday for another round of peace talks with Iranian officials, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.

They will "engage in talks, direct talks inter-mediated by the Pakistanis, who have been incredible friends and mediators throughout this entire process, with representatives from the Iranian delegation," she said Friday. "The Iranians reached out as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation. So the president is dispatching Steve and Jared to go hear what they have to say."

Leavitt said Vice President JD Vance will not be going but said he "remains deeply involved in this entire process, and he'll be standing by here in the United States, along with the president and the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the entire national security team for updates."

When asked whether the administration had any indication that the Iranians were closer to coming to a deal, Leavitt only said "we'll see," adding that it was part of the reason for the trip by Witkoff and Kushner.

Despite the president’s rhetoric threatening to bomb Iran and his past claims that he does not need a deal, Leavitt said the U.S. has “transitioned” into a “diplomatic phase” in order to secure a deal.

-ABC News’ Nicholas Kerr, Emily Chang and Michelle Stoddart

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media that he's visiting Islamabad, Pakistan, Muscat, Oman, and Moscow, Russia "to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments."

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted that U.S. forces are ready to continue striking Iran if President Donald Trump issues the order.

Caine described how the U.S. seized the Iranian-flagged ship Touska, which he said tried to evade the blockade. Caine said the U.S. fired five warning shots and ultimately nine disabling shots at the ship.

“American forces began to issue several clear and unambiguous warnings and informed the vessel and its crew that they were in violation of the U.S. blockade and directed the ship to turn around,” Caine said. “Over a six-hour period, the vessel and her crew repeatedly ignored U.S. warnings, and then the U.S. Navy destroyer executed a series of pre-planned, carefully calibrated escalation options, including firing five warning shots. The vessel and her crew continued to ignore warnings, and after exhausting all other measures, CENTCOM authorized disabling fire against the Touska.”

“U.S. sailors warned the crew to abandon the engine room, and at approximately 9 a.m. Eastern Time, the destroyer disabled the Touska’s engine by firing nine inert rounds … precisely into the engine room,” Caine said.

The vessel “went dead in the water and began to comply with U.S. directions and orders,” he said, and “CENTCOM ordered United States marines to seize the ship via helicopters.”

-ABC News’ Steven Beynon, Christopher Boccia and Luis Martinez