Pakistan is trying to bring both sides back to the negotiating table after peace talks between the US and Iran ended without an agreement at the weekend.
Both the US and Iran could return to Islamabad as early as Thursday, a source aware of the talks says, adding that no firm plans are yet in place.
The war, now in its seventh week, has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been cut off, while airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region.
Iran and the US came “very close” to an agreement and were “80 per cent there” during last weekend’s meeting in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, held four days after the announcement of a ceasefire, sources say. It was the first direct encounter between US and Iranian officials in more than a decade, and the most senior engagement since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
US vice president JD Vance represented the administration of US president Donald Trump. Iran was represented by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araqchi.
US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had done a “great job” of moderating the first round of talks, and suggested his team was set to return to Islamabad for round two.
“I think you’re going to be watching an amazing two days ahead,” Trump said, suggesting that it might not be necessary to extend the current ceasefire beyond 21 April.
Officials from Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf also said negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week, although one senior Iranian source said no date had been set.
“We have reached out to Iran and got a positive response that they will be open to a second round of talks,” a senior official in the Pakistani government says. Officials say they have sent a proposal to both US and Iran to re-send their delegates to resume the talks.
Vance said the US wanted to make a “grand bargain”, but that the two sides’ relationship was marked by a lot of mistrust. “You are not going to solve that problem overnight,” he said.
Meanwhile, giant hoardings with “Islamabad Talks” written on them still hang outside the luxurious venue of the Hotel Serena in the capital.
“No firm date has been set, with the delegations keeping Friday through Sunday open,” a senior Iranian source told Reuters. The chatter within Islamabad circles is that the Pakistani government is continuing to push the Americans and the Iranians to once again sit down to reach an agreement and an extension to the ceasefire, if not a complete resolution.
“There were ups and downs [in the first round]. There were tense moments. People left the room, and then came back,” the security source said. Pakistani representatives, including Munir and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, moved between the sides through the night to keep things on track, Pakistani sources told the agency.
“Pakistani officials are engaged with both the countries and still pursuing their efforts. Despite no breakthrough, it has seen success: we have seen that no airstrikes have resumed from Israel or America on Iran so far,” Abdullah Khan, managing director at the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, tells The Independent, adding that Pakistan also persuaded Iran to not target the Gulf nations anymore.
