Rohit Kumar
NEW DELHI, Apr 21: Even though the US Vice-president JD Vance-led team is still to leave Washington and Iran has not yet confirmed its participation, Pakistan-led mediators in the US – Iran peace talks have expressed confidence on Tuesday evening that the new round of talks for the end of the West Asia war could begin in Islamabad from Wednesday.
Pakistan-led mediators received confirmation that the top negotiators, Mr Vance for the US and Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf would arrive in Islamabad early Wednesday, two regional officials told the media on Tuesday. They said the US and Iran have signaled their willingness to hold a new round of the ceasefire talks in Islamabad and would land in Islamabad early Wednesday morning for negotiations.
“We have received a positive signal from Iran. Things are fluid but we are trying that they should be here when we start the talks tomorrow or a day after,” a source said.
US Vice President JD Vance has not yet departed for Pakistan for talks with Iran, media reports said on Tuesday evening. The development comes after US President Donald Trump told the media that the US delegation was on its way for the negotiations. Iran has also not confirmed its participation in the talks. An Iranian source said that Tehran was considering if it should be joining the peace discussions.
Despite Pakistan’s claims, neither Washington nor Tehran has publicly confirmed the schedule. Iranian state television has also denied that any official has already reached Pakistan’s capital. Iran’s state broadcaster, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) has stated that no Iranian diplomatic delegation has traveled to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, dismissing reports of any such movement. The statement said, “No Iranian diplomatic delegation–be it a primary or secondary team, or an initial or follow-up mission–has traveled to Islamabad, Pakistan so far.”
Mr Ghalibaf had also accused the US leader of attempting to turn the “table of negotiation” into a “table of surrender.” Posting on
The talks are taking place days before the ceasefire deadline expires. The prospect of talks comes as ships remain unable to transit the critical waterway amid threats from Iran and a US blockade on vessels heading to and from Iranian ports.
The US State Department also would hold new talks on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon, a US official said after a previous meeting saw the start of a tense ceasefire. “We will continue to facilitate direct, good-faith discussions between the two governments,” the official said.
Amid the prospects of resumption of talks, President Donald Trump said the United States would not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until Tehran had agreed a peace deal to end the war. “THE BLOCKADE, which we will not take off until there is a ‘DEAL,’ is absolutely destroying Iran,” Trump said on social media. “They are losing $500 Million Dollars a day, an unsustainable number, even in the short run.”
Iranian vice president Mohammad Reza Aref said global fuel prices could stabilize only if economic and military pressures on Iranian oil exports were stopped. “One cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports while expecting free security for others,” Aref wrote in a post on X. “The choice is clear: either a free oil market for all, or the risk of significant costs for everyone,” he added.
Oil prices on Sunday surged in early trading amid a standoff between Iran and the US.
Pakistan has urged both the United States and Iran to extend their two-week ceasefire, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. In a meeting with the US Chargé d’Affaires in Pakistan, Natalie A. Baker, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stressed the need for engagement between the US and Iran, and said Pakistan urged both sides to consider extending the ceasefire, a statement from the Foreign Ministry said.
The 14-day ceasefire deadline between US and Iran will end on Wednesday and the US President has said he was not for any extension of the ceasefire deadline. Mr Trump said if no breakthrough was reached, “then lots of bombs start going off.” Meanwhile, the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament has signaled a potential shift in Tehran’s strategy, stating that the country is “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”
Mr Trump also accused Iran of repeatedly violating the ceasefire. “Iran has Violated the Cease Fire numerous times!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform referring to the two-week truce set to expire by Wednesday, after which the Middle East potentially could plunge back into open conflict.
Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.
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