Second round of Iran-US talks likely in Islamabad next week

ISLAMABAD: A second round of talks between Iran and the United States is likely to take place in Islamabad by the end of next week, as authorities have been asked to begin administrative and security preparations for the expected negotiations.

Sources said officials and security agencies have been directed to make the necessary arrangements ahead of the talks. They said the US delegation is expected to include Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

According to the same sources, Iran’s side is expected to comprise Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The expected meeting comes only days after delegations from the two countries held talks in Islamabad aimed at finalising an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.

Background to the conflict and earlier talks

The conflict began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched a joint bombing campaign against Iran. The confrontation widened rapidly after Iran effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz and carried out attacks on Israel and US bases in the Middle East.

Hostilities between Washington and Tehran paused on April 8 when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a two-week ceasefire between the two sides. He also invited delegations from both countries to Islamabad in an effort to help settle their dispute.

Those talks continued for around 21 hours but did not produce an agreement, as Tehran and Washington remained divided on major issues including Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme, the Strait of Hormuz, and the lifting of US sanctions on Iran.

Despite the lack of a breakthrough, Prime Minister Shehbaz said Islamabad was making all-out efforts to help resolve the outstanding issues between the US and Iran.

Iran says messages are being exchanged through Pakistan

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed on Wednesday that Tehran and Washington were exchanging messages through Pakistan.

During a media briefing, Baqaei said multiple messages had been exchanged after the first phase of the ceasefire. He added that it was highly likely Tehran would receive a Pakistani delegation on Wednesday as part of the ongoing negotiations process.

According to Baqaei, the Pakistani delegation was expected to arrive in Iran to convey messages from the United States in continuation of the Islamabad talks.

He said the earlier discussions in Islamabad covered a complete ceasefire, the removal of sanctions, and compensation for damage caused during the war.

Baqaei added that the matter of restoring Iran’s frozen assets was also discussed, but said no result had been achieved on that front.

He further said that any future negotiations would centre on securing a full ceasefire, while adding that reports about an extension of the current truce remained unconfirmed.

US position on ceasefire extension

A senior US official also said Washington had not formally agreed to extend its ceasefire with Iran.

“There is continued engagement between the US and Iran to reach a deal”, the senior US official told Reuters.