Pakistan

Field Marshal Asim Munir leaves Tehran while premier Shehbaz Sharif heads home from Turkiye amid hopes of another round of US-Iran talks.

Pakistan’s army chief and the prime minister have wrapped up separate diplomatic visits aimed at advancing efforts to end the United States-Iran conflict, with Field Marshal Asim Munir leaving Tehran and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif returning from Turkiye.

Munir met Iran’s leadership and peace negotiators during a three-day visit to Tehran, a Pakistani military statement said on Saturday.

The visit demonstrated Pakistan’s “unwavering resolve to facilitate a negotiated settlement… and to promote peace, stability and prosperity,” the military said ahead of expected US-Iran talks in Islamabad in the coming days.

Munir held talks with the country’s president, foreign minister, parliament speaker and head of Iran’s military central command centre.

Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, led the Iranian delegation to Islamabad for peace talks with the US last week, the highest level face-to-face contact between Washington and Tehran in decades.

Those talks ended without agreement, and a ceasefire is due to expire on April 22.

But diplomacy has continued, with Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye to push the peace process.

His three-country trip concluded on Saturday, with Sharif and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar departing a diplomacy forum in Antalya, according to statements from both officials.

“I leave Antalya [Turkish city] with fond memories and a renewed commitment to further strengthening the enduring fraternal bonds between our two nations, and to continuing our close cooperation to advance dialogue and diplomacy for lasting peace and stability in the region,” Sharif posted on X.

The flurry of diplomacy comes as further negotiations are expected in Pakistan in the coming days as Islamabad intensifies contacts with regional and global leaders in an effort to sustain momentum towards a US-Iran deal.

Pressure for a deal between the two countries has grown after Iran reimposed restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, hours after its reopening following the start of a ceasefire in Lebanon. Tehran accused the US of violating a deal to reopen the strategically important waterway.

Donald Trump has said a second round of talks with Iran could be held in Pakistan in the coming days. The New York Post reported that Trump praised Munir, saying he was “doing a great job”.

Reporting from Islamabad, Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder said Munir landed back home on Saturday as Pakistan prepared for another round of US-Iran talks expected “within the next few days”.

“We have also seen a lot of praise from the Trump administration on social media, praising the Pakistani leadership. So all eyes are on Islamabad. Serious differences remain, but there is a flurry of diplomatic activity and a hope and expectation that some sort of breakthrough may happen,” he said.

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed that the United States and Iran were in discussions – through Islamabad – to hold a second meeting between their negotiators to end their now nearly seven-week war, with a fragile ceasefire announced on April 8 days away from expiring.

But it added that no date had been set for that next round of negotiations, even as Islamabad stepped up a parallel diplomatic push to keep the process alive.

“Who will come, how big the delegation will be, who will stay, and who will go is for the parties to decide,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters in Islamabad, referring to what upcoming talks might look like. “As a mediator, it’s important for us to keep the talks confidential. We had the details and information of the talks entrusted to us by the negotiating parties.” 

Speaking of the first round of talks on April 12 in Islamabad, which concluded without a deal, Andrabi said: “There was neither a breakthrough nor a breakdown.”

The spokesperson confirmed that nuclear issues remained among the key subjects under discussion, but declined to elaborate.

His comments came as Pakistan’s civil and military leadership is travelling across the region in what some observers have begun calling the “Islamabad Process”, reflecting the government’s attempt to frame negotiations as an ongoing diplomatic effort rather than a one-off engagement.

Parallel diplomatic tracks

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Doha on Thursday, the second stop of a four-day regional tour that began with Jeddah on Wednesday, and will see him visiting Antalya next.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Asim Munir arrived in Tehran on Wednesday with a delegation that included Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

Munir was received at the airport with a warm hug from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who said he was “delighted” to welcome the field marshal and expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s “gracious hosting of dialogue”.

On Thursday, Iranian Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s delegation at the Islamabad talks, also met Munir.

Reza Amiri Moghadam, Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, said at an event in Islamabad that Tehran would not consider any venue other than Pakistan for talks with Washington.

“We will do talks in Pakistan and nowhere else, because we trust Pakistan,” he said.

Muhammad Faisal, a Pakistani security analyst and scholar at the University of Technology Sydney, said the parallel outreach reflected a deliberate division of labour.

“Pakistan’s strategy appears to be dual-tracked: PM Sharif is reassuring Gulf allies and attempting to build a broader support coalition, while CDF Munir is engaged in hard negotiations between the two sides to narrow gaps between Iran and the US, with an eye on extending the ceasefire and reaching a broader understanding,” he told Al Jazeera.

Reports that Munir might travel to Washington, DC after Tehran were denied by security officials, who called them “speculative”. Andrabi said he was not aware of any such development.

In Jeddah on Wednesday, Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and expressed “full solidarity and support” for the kingdom following regional escalation, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry. The crown prince praised what Riyadh described as the “constructive role” played by both Sharif and Munir.

In Doha, Sharif met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and discussed “the regional situation, particularly in the Gulf region”, underscoring “the importance of de-escalation, dialogue and close international coordination to ensure peace and stability”, the prime minister’s office said.

From Doha, Sharif heads to Antalya with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. They are expected to meet counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and potentially Egypt on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on April 17.

Regional security push

The Antalya meeting is part of a broader diplomatic effort. Turkiye is preparing to host talks on a regional security platform involving Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and possibly Egypt, according to officials familiar with the discussions.

It would be the third such meeting in a month, following earlier rounds of talks in Riyadh and Islamabad.

The goal is to establish a platform for regular, structured cooperation on regional security issues, the officials said, stressing the discussions are distinct from current efforts to end the Iran war.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed that discussions were under way, but said no agreement had been finalised.

“This pact is necessary so that countries can be assured of one another,” he told the state-run Anadolu Agency on Monday.

Turkiye also reaffirmed support for the US-Iran peace process on Thursday.

“We will continue to provide the necessary support for the ongoing ceasefire to turn into a permanent truce and eventually lasting peace, without becoming more complex and difficult to manage,” the Defence Ministry said, adding that it expected “the parties will be constructive in the ongoing negotiation process”.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said senior officials from the four countries had also met in Islamabad earlier this week to prepare recommendations for Antalya.

Ceasefire under strain

The two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan on April 8, which halted attacks in Iran and the Gulf, is due to expire on April 22. While still holding, it is under increasing strain.

A US naval blockade on Iranian ports remains in place, with the US Central Command saying its forces had turned away nine ships as of Wednesday.

Kamran Yousuf, an Islamabad-based journalist and expert on diplomatic affairs, said he expected the ceasefire to be extended.

“I would be really surprised if the current ceasefire is not extended. There is little appetite on both sides to go back to war. There are enough signs on the ground that if there is no deal before the truce expires, the ceasefire will be extended,” he told Al Jazeera.

Faisal offered a more cautious assessment, warning that failure to secure a second round would shift Pakistan’s role.

“Pakistan’s mediation will not collapse immediately, but Islamabad’s role will change from mediator to crisis manager. If hostilities resume, Pakistan will focus again on brokering a ceasefire,” he said.

Despite uncertainty, signals from both Washington and Tehran have remained cautiously optimistic.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said further talks would “very likely” take place in Islamabad, adding, “We feel good about the prospects of a deal.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said multiple messages had been exchanged with Washington through Pakistan since April 12.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that talks could resume within two days and that Washington was “more inclined to go” to Pakistan.

Sticking points remain

The path to a second round remains complicated by unresolved disputes.

Iran has insisted that Lebanon be included in any agreement, arguing that ongoing Israeli strikes there, which have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced 1.2 million, cannot be separated from the wider conflict.

On April 14, the United States convened a trilateral meeting in Washington with the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon, the first direct engagement between the two sides since 1993.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mediated the talks, which both sides described as “productive”, but no ceasefire or follow-up meeting was agreed.

Washington has maintained that any Lebanon deal must remain separate from US-Iran negotiations, rejecting Tehran’s position. On Thursday, Israel said its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would speak on the phone with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun — but Beirut had not confirmed any plans for a telephone conversation. The two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations.

At Thursday’s briefing, Andrabi aligned Pakistan with Iran on this issue.

“Peace in Lebanon is essential for US-Iran peace talks,” he said, adding that “signs of improvement on the Israel-Lebanon front over the past two days are encouraging.”

Yousuf said a Lebanon ceasefire would send an important signal to Iran.

“Extending the ceasefire to Lebanon will be an important confidence-building measure, a signal from the US that it is serious about a second round. It will also give Tehran good reason to return to the table,” he said.

But he added that the deeper challenge remained Iran’s nuclear programme.

“The nuclear issue is at the heart of the real problem. The flurry of shuttle diplomacy initiated by Pakistan is aimed at bridging the gap between the two sides,” he said.

Grace Wermenbol, a former US national security official and senior visiting fellow at the German Marshall Fund, said Washington’s approach to Lebanon would hinge on Trump’s willingness to pressure Israel.

“A clear pathway to a cessation of hostilities in Lebanon exists,” she told Al Jazeera. “The question is whether Trump will be willing to apply the pressure necessary on Israel to halt its military offensive and allow the Lebanese government to continue its military disarmament efforts. So far, and this is also true for the months preceding the latest escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, we have not seen this pressure materialise.”

The Strait of Hormuz remains another major obstacle.

The waterway, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes during peacetime, has effectively been blocked by Iran since early in the war, except for ships belonging to countries that have struck individual deals with Tehran.

Starting Monday, the US imposed its own naval blockade on the strait, to prevent any Iran-linked vessel from passing through.

“Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as the primary issue in US-Iranian negotiations. Opening it is crucial to easing upward pressure on oil prices and instilling confidence in global markets,” Wermenbol said.

She added that Tehran appeared to be betting Washington would eventually back down.

“There is no easy military option here,” she said. “The only way to resolve this issue and remove the threat to maritime traffic will need to involve a diplomatic deal.”

Pakistani officials are expecting a “major breakthrough” in talks between Iran and the United States on Tehran’s nuclear programme, sources have told Al Jazeera, as Islamabad steps up diplomatic efforts to end a war that has killed thousands of people.

The optimism on Wednesday came as a high-level Pakistani delegation, headed by Army Chief Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran to deliver a message from the US to the Iranian leadership, according to Iran’s Press TV broadcaster.

He was received by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s “gracious hosting of dialogue”. According to Press TV, Munir is also seeking to lay the groundwork for a second round of talks between the US and Iran.

Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, who has been covering the US-Iran talks, said Pakistani officials were expecting “a major breakthrough on the nuclear front” and that the delegates were continuing to relay messages back and forth between Washington and Tehran.

The central sticking point remains the duration of any enrichment freeze by Iran and the country’s stockpile of 440 kilogrammes of highly enriched uranium.

“We know that both sides are essentially stuck on between five years of no enrichment to 20 years of no enrichment. And there is a solution in the middle,” Bin Javaid said.

“There’s also talk about what Iran will do with the 440kg of nuclear-enriched material that it has in the country. There are multiple options – whether sending it abroad to a third party or bringing it down to either uranium in its natural form or up to 3 percent,” he said.

“According to these sources, there’s major headway that has been made, and they’re expecting that the Pakistanis are going to be able to convince Tehran,” he added.

Shuttle diplomacy

The shuttle diplomacy by Pakistan came after talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad ended over the weekend without an agreement to end the war. Mediators are pressing for a compromise on three main issues: Iran’s nuclear programme, control of the Strait of Hormuz – which Tehran has effectively closed, causing a surge in global oil prices – and compensation for wartime damages.

The conflict, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, has killed more than 3,000 people in Iran and triggered retaliatory attacks by Tehran on Gulf countries. It has also reignited a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have killed more than 2,000 people since March 2.

A ceasefire between Tehran and Washington on April 8 has halted attacks in Iran and the Gulf, but strikes by Israeli forces on Lebanon have continued.

Separately on Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also travelled to Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour that also includes stops in Qatar and Turkiye. Al Jazeera’s Bin Javaid said Sharif’s tour was part of a “double-pronged strategy”.

“While the Iranians are speaking to the Pakistani military chief, the Pakistani prime minister and foreign minister are talking to the Saudis and the Qataris. The day after, they go to Turkiye,” he said, with the aim of neutralising any detractors to a deal

Bin Javaid said the detractors include elements in Tehran, in Washington, DC, and most of all, Israel, “which does not want a peace deal and wants a perpetual war in the region”.

‘Very close to over’

The diplomatic push appears bolstered by optimistic comments from US President Donald Trump, who said late on Tuesday that the world should brace for an “amazing two days” and the war on Iran is “very close to over”.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later said that further negotiations would likely be held in Islamabad, calling Pakistan-mediated discussions “productive and ongoing”.

“We feel good about the prospects of a deal,” she said on Wednesday.

In Tehran, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that exchanges with the US have continued since the end of the talks in Islamabad. Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said “several messages have been exchanged through Pakistan” and that Iranian “positions have been expressed in those exchanges”.

Tensions remain, however.

A US Navy blockade on Iranian ports – which began following the end of the talks – remains in effect in the Strait of Hormuz. The US Central Command claimed it has turned back nine vessels as of Wednesday.

Iran’s military has denounced the blockade as a violation of the April 8 ceasefire. Iran’s Fars News Agency separately reported that a sanctioned Iranian supertanker had crossed the Strait of Hormuz despite the blockade, though it gave no further details.

Ali Abdollahi, the commander of Iran’s joint military command, has also threatened to halt trade in the region if the US does not lift its blockade. He warned that Iran would retaliate by blocking trade through the Red Sea, along with the Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

A source has told Al Jazeera that Pakistan is expecting a breakthrough tied to Iran’s nuclear programme as Islamabad helps negotiate an end the US-Israeli war on Iran. Pakistani military and government officials met with Iranian and Saudi leaders on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON — With a fragile ceasefire set to expire with Iran in a matter of days, President Trump is still deciding between diplomacy and a resumption of fighting that may ultimately hinge on his definition of victory.

Negotiations have continued over the last week between the warring sides over a potential agreement that would end the conflict and curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions, with interlocutors from Pakistan passing messages that have kept talks alive. Tehran has floated an extension of the two-week ceasefire, set to expire Tuesday, that is under active consideration by the American side.

But the Islamic Republic has simultaneously vowed retaliation over a new U.S. blockade of Iranian ports that in effect cut off Tehran’s oil sales, which make up nearly 85% of the country’s export revenue. And the Trump administration is deploying up to 10,000 additional troops to the region, on top of the 50,000 already there, both reinforcing the blockade and threatening ground operations if diplomacy fails.

Conflicting messages from the Trump administration are designed to escalate pressure on Tehran ahead of the ceasefire deadline, potentially extracting concessions at the negotiating table.

But speaking with reporters, Trump has made it clear he is seeking a way to end the war for good.

“I think it’s close to over,” Trump told Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” on Wednesday. “I view it as very close to over. If I pulled up stakes right now, it would take them 20 years to rebuild that country. And we’re not finished. We’ll see what happens. I think they want to make a deal very badly.”

Negotiations toward that end have proved more challenging than the administration initially anticipated.

Trump has said he started the war in order to eliminate Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, degrade its ballistic missile and drone programs, and destroy its navy. But in talks, the Iranians have not relented on their right to enrich uranium, to maintain conventional defensive capabilities and to police traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital waterways.

Tehran rejected a proposal by U.S. negotiators last week for a 20-year pause on Iran’s domestic enrichment of fissile material, with the Iranians countering with a five-year moratorium, one official said.

In his interview with Fox, Trump said the talks were going so well that an extension of the ceasefire might not be necessary. Yet, speaking with the New York Post, Trump suggested he wouldn’t settle for less than an indefinite cap on Iran’s nuclear work.

“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons,” Trump said, “so I don’t like the 20 years.”

“I don’t want them to feel like they have a win,” he added.

The U.S. ceasefire with Iran was predicated on the resumption of free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. But Iranian threats of a new toll system and warnings of drifting mines have limited traffic, prompting the Trump administration to announce a full blockade of the strait. Despite the U.S. threat, ships have continued transiting the passage this week, suggesting the U.S. blockade has focused more specifically on Iranian ports.

Amid the impasse, global oil prices remain stubbornly high — a concern for Republicans entering this year’s midterm election season. Trump told Fox that he expected prices to drop to prewar levels by the time of the vote in November.

“There’s gonna be a hit, but it’s going to recover, I think, fully,” Trump said. “I think that we will be somewhere around where we were — maybe even lower. And when this is over, I think the stock market is going to boom.”

A second round of high-level negotiations could take place in Islamabad, Pakistan, over the next several days, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters at a news briefing Wednesday.

Pakistani officials traveled to Tehran on Wednesday to deliver a message from the U.S. delegation, potentially laying the groundwork for new, in-person talks.

“He’s made his red lines in these negotiations very clear to the other side,” Leavitt said. “We feel good about the prospects of a deal.”

Sources tell Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are hopeful about a breakthrough on Iran’s nuclear programme.

A high-level Pakistani delegation has travelled to Iran to hold talks focused on arranging a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, a week before their fragile truce is due to expire.

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir is heading the delegation that arrived in Tehran on Wednesday evening, according to Iranian state media. It said he came with a new message from the US and plans to coordinate a second round of US-Iran talks, after an initial round in Islamabad ended on Sunday without a deal to end the war.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also joining mediation efforts in Tehran, while Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Saudi Arabia for the first stop in a four-day Gulf tour.

Pakistan’s diplomatic blitz comes as competing US and Iranian sea blockades strain tensions – and the global economy – but amid indications of progress towards a deal to end the war, which has killed 3,000 people in Iran and spiralled across the Middle East.

“The urgency is being driven by the ceasefire expiring on April 22, and Pakistani officials are hoping they can get that extended,” said Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett from Islamabad. “Sharif will try and convince regional partners to also use their leverage to convince the US to participate in new talks with Iran and make sure there is no diplomatic line-crossing.”

Washington ‘feels good’ about potential deal

The latest mediation appears bolstered by optimistic comments from US President Donald Trump, who said the world should brace for an “amazing two days” as the war with Iran is close to over.

Trump also said his negotiators were likely to return to Pakistan, thanks largely to the “great job” Munir was doing to moderate the talks.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later reiterated that additional talks with Iran would likely go forward in Islamabad. “We feel good about the prospects of a deal,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

Nevertheless, the US military said its naval blockade on all Iranian ports was still in effect, with US forces “present, vigilant and ready to ensure compliance”.

The blockade, which Iran’s military slammed as a violation of the ceasefire, turned nine ships away as of Wednesday, according to US Central Command.

The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the US did not lift its blockade. He also warned Iran would retaliate by blocking trade through the Red Sea along with the Gulf and Sea of Oman.

‘Detractors on all sides’

Mediators in the conflict are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points – Iran’s nuclear programme, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and compensation for wartime damages.

Iran’s Foreign Minister spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment”, according to Iranian state media.

Sources told Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are optimistic about a potential major breakthrough on the nuclear front, which is the reason for Munir’s rare diplomatic trip.

“It looks like there is some agreement in the making, but we’ve been cautioned by sources [close to the mediation effort] that there are detractors on all sides,” said Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid from Doha.

He said the detractors include elements “in Tehran, in Washington, DC, and biggest of them all, according to Pakistani sources, is Israel, which does not want a peace deal and wants a perpetual war in the region”.

April 15 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump said peace talks with Iran “could be happening in the next two days,” with American negotiators most likely to return to Islamabad where the first round of talks at the weekend ended without a breakthrough.

In an interview with the New York Post on Tuesday, Trump said talks between the sides were “happening, but, you know, a little bit slow,” saying a new round of direct negotiations would probably be hosted by a country in Europe.

However, around 30 minutes after the interview had concluded, Trump called back to tell the Post that it should keep its reporter covering the talks in Islamabad in place and not bring them home.

“You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we’re more inclined to go there [Islamabad]. It’s more likely, you know why? Because the field marshal is doing a great job,” Trump said, referencing Pakistan’s Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir who has a direct line of communication with the regime in Tehran and a strong relationship with Trump.

“He’s fantastic, and therefore it’s more likely that we go back there. Why should we go to some country that has nothing to do with it?” added Trump.

The Washington D.C.,-headquartered Institute for the Study of War also said a fresh round of negotiations was likely this week but said it believed Iran’s approach would be to try to buy time by spinning out the talks

“Iran likely aims to protract negotiations as long as possible in order to prepare for a potential resumption of conflict,” ISW said in a post on X.

The developments, which came as a fragile cease-fire that took effect April 7 entered its second week, followed earlier reports in which unnamed White House officials told CNBC, CNN and NBC News that in-person negotiations could restart before the truce expires on Tuesday.

Vice President JD Vance said round one of the talks in Islamabad, which ran for more than 20 hours, foundered on differences over Iran’s nuclear program — which the United States wants it to give up completely to ensure it can never develop a nuclear weapon — and control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Reports later emerged that more progress had been made than initially suggested, with the sides getting close to agreement on nuclear enrichment after Iran countered U.S. demands for a 20-year suspension with an offer to halt all enrichment for 5 years.

Trump told the Post he was unhappy with the thinking that a moratorium on enrichment, instead of terminating the program, would make the regime in Tehran more amenable to a lasting peace agreement by providing them a face-saving “success” to sell to the Iranian people.

“I’ve been saying they can’t have nuclear weapons. So I don’t like the 20 years. I don’t want them [Iran] to feel like they have a win.”

Experts concurred with Trump’s analysis, saying the only way to guarantee Iran would not be able to pursue a nuclear weapon in the future was to make sure the entire program was put beyond use, in a verifiable way, and that it needed to happen while Trump was still in office.

Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2025 deal between Iran and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, enrichment by Tehran of its 300 Kg stockpile of uranium was capped at 3.67%, in exchange for sanctions relief.

However, that deal lapsed in October, although in practice it was long dead after Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in May 2018, during his first term, with Iran subsequently proceeding to enrich an expanded 441 kg uranium stockpile to around 60%, not far short of weapons grade.

Islamabad, Pakistan – More than 12 hours of face-to-face negotiations between the United States and Iran ended without agreement in Islamabad on Sunday, leaving a fragile two-week ceasefire as the only barrier between diplomacy and a return to war.

Pakistan, which spent weeks positioning itself as a mediator and succeeded in bringing both sides into the same room, emerged with its role intact. But officials acknowledge the harder phase now begins — getting American and Iranian negotiators back into talks before their differences explode into full-fledged war again.

“Pakistan has been and will continue to play its role to facilitate engagements and dialogue between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America in the days to come,” Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said in a statement after the conclusion of the talks.

The talks, the highest-level direct engagement between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, faltered over differences surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme.

“The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon,” said US Vice President JD Vance, who led the American delegation alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

However, Vance left a narrow opening for the resumption of talks.

“We leave here with a very simple proposal, a method of understanding that is our final and best offer. We’ll see if the Iranians accept it,” Vance said, tapping the podium for emphasis, before ending his brief remarks, which lasted for less than five minutes.

Pakistani and Iranian sources confirmed that the Iranian delegation met senior Pakistani officials later on Sunday before departing for Tehran, though details of those discussions remain unclear.

What is clear is that Pakistan isn’t giving up yet.

Washington’s red lines

US officials said that Iran had entered negotiations misreading its leverage, believing it held advantages that, in Washington’s assessment, it did not.

According to these officials, Vance spent much of his time during the talks correcting what they described as Iranian misperceptions about the US position — asserting that no deal would be possible without a full commitment on the nuclear issue.

Officials also suggested that Trump’s subsequent announcement of a blockade in the Strait of Hormuz was not an impulsive reaction, but a pre-planned step aimed at removing the waterway as an Iranian bargaining tool and forcing the nuclear issue back to the centre of any future talks.

But the US officials, speaking on background, also acknowledged that the gulf in the positions between Washington and Tehran that they failed to bridge extended to issues beyond Iran’s nuclear programme.

In essence, they said, the two sides failed to agree on six key points: ending all uranium enrichment; dismantling major enrichment facilities; removing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium; accepting a broader regional security framework involving US allies; ending funding for groups Washington designates as “terrorist” organisations, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis; and fully reopening the Strait of Hormuz without tolls.

Hours after the talks ended, Trump acknowledged partial progress, but underscored the central impasse.

“The meeting went well, most points were agreed to, but the only point that really mattered, NUCLEAR, was not,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said. “Iran will not be allowed to profit off this Illegal Act of EXTORTION.”

Iran has effectively controlled access to the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 percent of global oil supplies pass, since the US-Israeli attacks began on February 28.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has imposed what analysts describe as a de facto toll system, requiring vessels to secure clearance codes and transit under escort through a controlled corridor.

The disruption has pushed oil prices above $100 per barrel at times, unsettling global markets and placing sustained pressure on energy-importing countries across Asia and Europe.

Tehran has framed its control of the strait as both a security measure and a key negotiating lever, one it has shown little willingness to relinquish without a broader settlement.

Tehran’s point of view

Iran’s account of the breakdown differed sharply.

In a post on X early on April 13, after returning to Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country had engaged in “good faith”, only to face shifting demands.

“When just inches away from an Islamabad MoU, we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade,” he wrote. “Zero lessons learned. Good will begets good will. Enmity begets enmity.”

The reference to an “Islamabad MoU”, a memorandum of understanding, was the clearest public signal yet that the two sides had come closer to a formal agreement than either government had previously acknowledged.

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the country’s delegation, said his team had proposed “forward-looking initiatives”, but failed to secure trust.

“Due to the experiences of the two previous wars, we have no trust in the opposing side,” he wrote on Sunday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei also pointed to partial progress but unresolved differences.

“On some issues we actually reached mutual understanding, but there was a gap over two or three important issues and ultimately the talks didn’t result in an agreement,” he said.

Tehran’s key demands, including an end to Israeli strikes on Lebanon, the release of $6bn in frozen assets, guarantees on its nuclear programme and the right to charge vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, remained unmet.

Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, however, offered a more measured view — suggesting that Tehran was not closing the window on talks.

“The Islamabad Talks is not an event but a process,” he wrote in his message on X on Sunday. “The Islamabad Talks laid the foundation for a diplomatic process that, if trust and will are strengthened, can create a sustainable framework for the interests of all parties.”

Pakistan’s balancing act

For Pakistan, analysts say, the outcome represents a setback but not a failure.

Officials were careful to describe the talks as “an important opening step in a continuing diplomatic process”, stressing that issues of such complexity cannot be resolved in a single round.

The emphasis, they said, was on keeping the channel open.

Muhammad Obaidullah, a former Pakistan Navy commodore who has served in Iran as a diplomat, said expectations of a breakthrough were always unrealistic.

“The mere fact of bringing both parties face to face is a significant diplomatic achievement in itself,” he told Al Jazeera. “The diplomacy is not dead.”

Ishtiaq Ahmad, professor emeritus of international relations at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad, went further.

“The talks did not collapse; they concluded without agreement but with a defined US offer on the table and the channel still intact,” he said.

“Pakistan’s role was to move the crisis from escalation to structured engagement, which it achieved. The absence of convergence reflects structural differences between the US and Iran, not a failure of mediation.”

Both Trump and Iranian officials have praised Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir for their efforts to secure the ceasefire, and for hosting the talks in Islamabad. That, say analysts, suggests that they remain open to further Pakistan-brokered negotiations.

Sahar Baloch, a Germany-based scholar of Iran, said that trust remains Pakistan’s most valuable asset.

“The real test of credibility is not preventing breakdowns, but remaining relevant after them,” she said.

Fragile ceasefire

The immediate threat to Pakistan’s role comes from the evolving situation in the Strait of Hormuz and in Lebanon.

Iran has already warned that continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon could render negotiations meaningless. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has framed such attacks as a direct challenge to the ceasefire.

Trump’s blockade announcement now adds pressure from a second front.

Ahmad, a former Pakistan chair at Oxford University, warned that a collapse of the truce would sharply narrow diplomatic options.

“If the ceasefire collapses, the immediate consequence is the loss of the diplomatic window,” he said. “A second round becomes far more difficult because both sides would return to negotiating under active escalation, where positions tend to harden rather than converge.”

Obaidullah drew a historical parallel with the US naval quarantine of Cuba during the 1962 missile crisis. What if China were to use its own ships to import Iranian oil? Would the US attack them?

“The world will again be watching who blinks first,” Obaidullah said. “However, it may turn into a far greater conflict if neither side does.”

The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 brought the US and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war, after Washington discovered Moscow had installed nuclear missiles on Cuban soil, within striking distance of the American mainland.

The US blocked the Soviets from providing more equipment to Cuba, and eventually, a diplomatic settlement was reached, with the Soviets agreeing to withdraw the missiles in exchange for a US pledge not to invade Cuba.

Baloch, the Berlin-based scholar, agreed that the situation remains volatile.

“The ceasefire risks becoming more symbolic than substantive,” she said. “But paradoxically, escalation can sometimes force a return to talks, even if under more urgent and less favourable conditions.”

What is the road ahead?

Pakistan’s room for manoeuvring is also shaped by its economic fragility.

The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has driven up energy prices, compounding pressures on an economy already under strain before the conflict.

Ahmad said this creates both urgency and limits.

“Economic exposure, especially to energy shocks and external financing, creates urgency for Pakistan to prevent a prolonged conflict,” he said.

“But it also reinforces a constraint: Pakistan cannot afford escalation with either side. Its leverage is not coercive; it is positional. It comes from being the only channel acceptable to both sides, not from the ability to impose outcomes,” Ahmad said.

Eight days remain until the end of the initial two-week truce, a window Pakistani officials said privately represents a genuine opportunity for further technical and political alignment, if both sides choose to use it.

Ahmad suggested that any breakthrough would depend on creating a sequence of steps acceptable to both sides.

“The US is asking for early nuclear commitments; Iran is asking for guarantees and relief first,” he said.

Pakistan’s role, he added, would be to help “structure this sequencing, keep both sides engaged, and prevent breakdown at each stage”.

Islamabad won’t be the one drafting a deal itself, he emphasised, noting, “At this point, maintaining the channel is as important as the substance of the deal itself.”

Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities say the United States needs to do more if an agreement is to be made to end the war as they urge their supporters to maintain control of the streets.

The US delegation at Saturday’s marathon talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, “ultimately failed to gain the trust of the Iranian delegation in this round of negotiations”, said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliament speaker who led the Iranian team.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US Navy will immediately begin the process of “blockading any and all ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz” in Iran’s southern waters. He also said the US military remains “locked and loaded” and will “finish up” Iran at the “appropriate moment”.

The fact that the Iranian delegation did not accede to Washington’s core demands of eliminating nuclear enrichment on Iranian soil and ending Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz was welcomed by Iranian authorities on Sunday as they projected defiance.

Judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei thanked the delegation that went to Islamabad and said they “guarded the rights” of the supporters of Iran’s government, including paramilitary forces converging on main squares, streets and mosques in Tehran and other cities every night for more than six weeks.

When the delegations were engaged in the talks on Saturday night, a member of the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was shown by state television telling flag-waving supporters in downtown Tehran not to be concerned.

“If the enemy does not understand, we will make them understand,” the man who was wearing military attire and a black mask to conceal his identity said to cheers from the crowd, some of whom demanded more missile and drone attacks from the IRGC.

State television also said it was Trump, not Tehran, that wished to “restore his image” through the negotiations and his “excessive demands” were the reason the talks failed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it did not expect to reach an agreement after only one day of negotiations.

Multiple lawmakers in the hardliner-dominated parliament said they were happy that the talks did not yield results because they believed Iran had the upper hand in the war.

Hamidreza Haji-Babaei, the parliament speaker’s deputy, said the only thing acceptable to the establishment supporters who are on the streets is a United Nations Security Council resolution that would signal “surrender” for the US and lead to the lifting of sanctions against Iran and its leaders.

Amir Hossein Sabeti, a Tehran lawmaker affiliated with the Paydari faction of hardliners, said he was thankful to the negotiating team for “not backing away from red lines” and “there is no way left but to show resistance in the field against these evildoers and demons”.

More escalation ahead

This comes after some pro-state voices said they were disheartened by the abrupt announcement overnight into Wednesday of a two-week ceasefire and direct negotiations on ending the war with the US.

To assuage internal concerns, the Iranian delegation to Islamabad had more than 85 members, according to local media, including dozens of representatives from state-affiliated media and analysts close to different factions.

In addition to Ghalibaf, a former IRGC commander who advanced Iran’s missile programme, senior members of the team included Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, hardline diplomat Ali Bagheri Kani, Defence Council head and former security chief Ali Akbar Ahmadian and moderate central bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati.

The talks on Saturday established that a diplomatic breakthrough was not close and that more escalation was likely, even if there is no immediate return to full-fledged fighting.

“What he [Trump] has been saying after the negotiations is just excessive talk. He is saying his wishes out loud,” Ebrahim Azizi, the head of the national security commission of Iran’s parliament, told state television on Sunday afternoon about Trump’s announced naval blockade and new threats.

The IRGC has threatened that it will respond to any passage of military vessels through the Strait of Hormuz with full force. It also rejected the US military’s announcement during the talks that two US warships had passed through the strait in preparation for an operation to clear naval mines blocking the strategic waterway.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call on Sunday that he is ready to continue diplomatically facilitating a peace settlement in the Middle East.

Pezeshkian, who has been tasked mainly with working on domestic affairs, has supported continuity of the establishment and backing for Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader who has not been seen or heard from outside of written statements since Israel and the US launched the war on February 28. His government announced that schools and universities will be held online, using a limited local intranet, until further notice.

Iran’s economy continues to suffer from chronic inflation with more jobs lost in 2026 as the state continues to impose a near-total internet shutdown.

US Vice President JD Vance says the US delegation has failed to reach an agreement with Iran after 21 hours of negotiations in Pakistan. In a very short press conference, Vance said Iran had chosen not to accept Washington’s terms.

US Vice President JD Vance is leaving Pakistan after 21 hours of talks with Iran, saying Tehran chose not to accept their ‘final and best offer’. Here’s his full press conference in Islamabad.

US President Donald Trump says ‘we win regardless of what happens’ in Iran talks. His comments outside the White House came as US and Iranian delegations continue negotiating late into the night in Islamabad.

Former Pakistani diplomat to the US Maleeha Lodhi says expectations from the Islamabad talks between the US and Iran should be realistic, stressing that “we should recognise that diplomacy is not an event, it’s a process, it takes time.”

April 11 (UPI) — Talks between the United States and Iran began Saturday morning between the two delegations in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Vice President JD Vance arrived at 10:30 a.m. PKT. At Nur Khan air base, Vance walked down a red carpet and met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Sharif said Friday that the United States is at a “make or break” moment in a national address Friday.

It’s not clear if the talks are direct or indirect, but CNN reported the talks are a mixture of both.

Though there was heavy security, with road closures and checkpoints, the mood in Pakistan was jubilant, The Washington Post reported.

Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of violating the fragile cease-fire that began last week. The United States has said Iran is violating the agreement because the Strait of Hormuz is not open. Only two ships passed through it on Friday, The New York Times reported. Iran is angry that Israel continues to attack Lebanon, though Israel and the United States say they never agreed to stop fighting in Lebanon.

Israel has hit more than 200 targets in Lebanon affiliated with Hezbollah in the past 24 hours, The Times reported the Israeli military said.

Iran can’t find all the mines it set in the strait, The Times reported that U.S. officials said Friday, causing a snarl in Iran’s ability to comply with American demands.

Saturday morning, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the United States is “clearing out” the strait.

“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others. Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves. Very interestingly, however, empty Oil carrying ships from many Nations are all heading to the United States of America to LOAD UP with Oil.”

He didn’t clarify what “clearing out” of the strait means.

On Friday, he said that Iranians must negotiate.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

The U.S. delegation includes envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The Iranian side has more than a dozen senior officials, including Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, along with senior security officials and Iran’s central bank governor, The Post reported.

Both sides seem motivated to see the war come to an end, but they remain at odds on several issues. Control of the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations, Iran’s enriched uranium and withdrawal of the U.S. military in the region are some of the sticking points.

ISLAMABAD — The United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations Saturday in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.

The White House confirmed the direct nature of the talks, a rare instance of high-level U.S. government engagement with the Iranian government.

Iran’s state-run news agency said three-party talks including Pakistan had begun after Iranian preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met, and after U.S. and Iranian officials met separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf were discussing how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the most direct U.S. contact had been in September 2013 when President Obama called newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. The recent highest-level meetings were between Secretary of State John Kerry and counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif during negotiations over the program.

Iran sets ‘red lines’ including compensation for strikes

Iran doubled down on parts of its earlier proposal, with its delegation telling Iranian state television it had presented some of the plan’s ideas as “red lines” in meetings with Sharif. Those included compensation for damage caused by the U.S.-Israeli strikes that launched the war on Feb. 28 and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.

The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 1,953 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Iran’s chokehold on the vital Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.

Reflecting the high stakes, officials from the region said Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi and Qatari officials were in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate the talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.

In Tehran, residents told the Associated Press they were skeptical yet hopeful about the talks after weeks of airstrikes left destruction across their country of some 93 million people. Some said the path to recovery would be long.

“Peace alone is not enough for our country, because we’ve been hit very hard, there have been huge costs,” 62-year-old Amir Razzai Far said.

Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with strikes in Lebanon after saying there is no ceasefire there. Iran and Pakistan have disagreed. The Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed.

Officials posture over key issues ahead of talks

Ahead of the talks, President Trump accused Iran of using the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy supplies, for extortion, and told reporters Friday it would be opened “with or without them.”

Iran’s closure of the strait has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war. Around a fifth of the world’s traded oil had typically passed through on over 100 ships a day. Only 12 have been recorded transiting since the ceasefire.

Iran has floated the idea of charging ships, though the idea has been widely rejected by countries including the United States and Iran’s neighbor Oman.

On Saturday, Trump said on social media that the U.S. had begun “clearing out” the strait, but it was unclear whether he was referring to the reported use of mines there or Iran’s broader ability to control the area.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Tehran was entering negotiations with “deep distrust” after strikes on Iran during previous rounds of talks. Araghchi, part of Iran’s delegation in Pakistan, said Saturday that his country was prepared to retaliate if attacked again.

Iran and the United States outlined competing proposals ahead of the talks.

Iran’s 10-point proposal called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies,” explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.

The United States’ 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the strait.

Israel and Lebanon will have direct negotiations

Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said Friday, after Israel’s surprise announcement authorizing talks despite the countries lack of official relations.

Israel wants the Lebanese government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much like was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But it is unclear whether Lebanon’s army can confiscate weapons from the militant group, which has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.

Israel’s insistence that the ceasefire in Iran does not include a pause in its fighting with Hezbollah has threatened to sink the deal. The militant group joined the war in support of Iran in the opening days. Israel followed up with airstrikes and a ground invasion.

The day the Iran ceasefire deal was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

Energy pressures grow

The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, was above $94 on Saturday, up more than 30% since the war started.

And new pressures emerged in Europe for travelers.

The head of Airports Council International-Europe, Olivier Jankovec, warned the European Union that a ″systemic jet fuel shortage’’ could come within three weeks because of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

Jankovec said in a letter obtained by the Associated Press that the crunch could impact the summer travel season and ″significantly harm the European economy.’′

Ahmed, Metz, Castillo and Magdy write for the Associated Press. Metz reported from Jerusalem, Castillo from Beijing and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

US Vice President JD Vance and officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have met Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad ahead of possible direct talks with Iran. If confirmed, they would be the highest-level in-person talks between the US and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

US Vice President JD Vance has landed in Pakistan for talks with Iranian officials on a deal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Pakistan’s ambassador to the US has told Al Jazeera that weeks of intense diplomatic efforts have led to a shared commitment from all sides to pursue a negotiated settlement, as US-Iran talks are set to begin in Islamabad.