The second round of talks between representatives of the United States and Iran may take place in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on April 25-26. Delegations from the countries have already left for the meeting.
CNN reports this, citing American and Iranian sources.
The Iranian negotiating team will be led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, replacing Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the first round of talks. Yesterday, Israeli media outlet N12 reported that Ghalibaf had withdrawn from the negotiating team due to pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The US representatives will be Steve Witkoff and David Kushner. US Vice President JD Vance will not be present at this stage of the talks. However, media sources say that Vance may travel to Islamabad if the US-Iran talks progress successfully.
The Iranian Foreign Minister confirmed on social media that he was flying to Pakistan, and then to Oman and Russia for "close coordination with partners". However, he did not mention whether meetings with Americans were planned as part of the trip to Islamabad.
War in the Middle East and negotiations between Iran and the US
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials.
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, began shelling Arab countries and Israel. The war also halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. It was through it that almost a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports passed — tens of millions of barrels a day.
On April 8, the parties agreed to a two-week ceasefire. On April 13, the United States began a naval blockade of Iranian ports, demanding the complete unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz for all ships.
On April 17, Lebanon and Israel agreed to a ceasefire, after which Iran unblocked the Strait of Hormuz. However, on April 18, Iran announced that it was again blocking the Strait of Hormuz due to the US naval blockade. On the same day , Iran fired on several ships attempting to pass through the strait.
On April 19, Donald Trump announced that his representatives would go to Pakistan for talks. But Iran refused to send its delegation. The Foreign Ministry noted that the US had violated the ceasefire, and Iran "cannot forget the US attacks on it during previous talks".
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