Two regional leaders said on Tuesday that the United States and Iran had announced a new series of ceasefire negotiations in Islamabad, as a fragile two-week truce was set to expire. Neither the United States nor Iran has publicly confirmed the date of these talks, with the Iranian state television denying the presence of any officials in the Pakistani capital.
According to these officials, Pakistan’s mediators have received confirmation that the key negotiators, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Iranian Parliament President Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, would arrive in Islamabad on Wednesday morning to lead their teams in the discussions. These officials requested anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the press.
The ceasefire, which came into effect on April 8, is set to expire on Wednesday, and both sides remain entrenched in their positions. President Donald Trump warned that “many bombs” would start to “explode” if an agreement is not reached before the ceasefire expires, while the chief Iranian negotiator stated that Tehran had “new cards on the battlefield.”
The ceasefire is expected to be extended if talks resume. White House officials indicated that Mr. Vance would lead the U.S. delegation to Islamabad. Iran, on the other hand, has not specified who they might send.
Iranian state television broadcast a message on Tuesday stating that “no Iranian delegation has gone to Islamabad” yet. The Iranian public television has long been controlled by hardline supporters.
Sanctioned tanker intercepted
The U.S. Department of Defense also announced that American forces had intercepted a sanctioned tanker for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. In a social media post, the Pentagon said that U.S. forces conducted a maritime interception operation under the right of visit and boarded the M/T Tifani “without incident.” Ship tracking data showed the Tifani was located in the Indian Ocean, between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The statement added that “international waters are not a refuge for sanctioned ships.”
Strait of Hormuz, a crucial issue
The U.S. has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports to compel Tehran to relinquish control over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane through which 20% of the world’s natural gas and crude oil pass in times of peace. Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz has caused oil prices to soar. The international benchmark Brent traded near $95 per barrel on Tuesday, a more than 30% increase from February 28, the day Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran, triggering the war. Before the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz was fully open to international navigation. Donald Trump demanded that ships be allowed to transit again without hindrance.
Pakistan hopeful for resumption of talks
Despite verbal skirmishes between the two parties, Pakistani officials expressed confidence that Iran would also send a delegation on Tuesday evening for talks to resume. Security has been heightened across the Pakistani capital, where authorities deployed thousands of agents and intensified patrols leading to the airport. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar discussed the latest regional developments with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, in diplomatic preparations, according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. Mr. Dar also met with the Chinese ambassador, a key Iran trading partner, while the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that the conflict was in a “critical phase of transition between war and peace.”
Israeli-Lebanese talks to resume
Diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon are set to resume on Thursday in Washington, according to an Israeli official, a Lebanese official, and a U.S. official speaking anonymously to discuss behind-the-scenes negotiations. The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met last week for the first direct diplomatic talks in decades. Israel claims these talks aim to disarm Hezbollah and reach a peace agreement with Lebanon.
A ten-day ceasefire began last Friday in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants erupted two days after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes against Iran. Since the conflict began, at least 3375 people have been killed in Iran, with 23 deaths in Israel and over a dozen in Gulf Arab countries. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and thirteen American troops in the region have also been killed.
