Two regional officials have indicated that the United States and Iran plan to engage in a new round of ceasefire negotiations in Islamabad, as a fragile truce is set to expire. However, neither party has publicly confirmed the timings of these discussions, with Iranian state media asserting that no official delegation from Iran has arrived in Pakistan’s capital.
Pakistan, acting as a mediator, has confirmed that key negotiators—US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf—will arrive in Islamabad on Wednesday to lead their respective teams in the talks. The officials who shared this information did so anonymously as they were not authorised to speak to reporters.
The ceasefire, which commenced on April 8, is due to end shortly, and both nations appear to be firm in their positions. US President Donald Trump has warned that significant military action could occur if an agreement is not reached by the ceasefire deadline, while Iran’s lead negotiator has noted that Tehran possesses “new cards on the battlefield” that remain undisclosed.
The likelihood of extending the ceasefire seems strong if negotiations proceed. Despite White House indications of Vance leading the US delegation, Iran has yet to announce its representatives, with state television stressing that no Iranian delegation has been sent to Islamabad as of now. This broadcast likely reflects ongoing internal deliberations within Iran regarding its response to recent US actions, including the Navy’s seizure of an Iranian vessel over the weekend.
The US Department of Defence has also reported that its forces boarded an oil tanker accused of smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. This operation, characterised as a “right-of-visit maritime interdiction,” was conducted without incident, as confirmed by the Pentagon.
Ship-tracking data placed the tanker, known as Tifani, in international waters near the Indian Ocean, specifically between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, highlighting the complexities of naval operations in these regions amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.