Iran to Take Part in Second Round of US Talks in Islamabad

(MENAFN) Iran will participate in a second round of high-stakes nuclear negotiations with the US in Islamabad despite a fresh flare-up of hostilities at the Strait of Hormuz, two Pakistani sources with direct knowledge of the mediation process told media on Monday.

The Iranian delegation is expected to touch down in the Pakistani capital as early as Tuesday, according to the sources, even as Tehran has stopped short of officially confirming its attendance.

Tehran is anticipated to field the same team that represented it in the first round earlier this month, led by Parliament Speaker Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. On the American side, Vice President JD Vance is expected to head the delegation, joined by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are slated to arrive in Islamabad late Monday or Tuesday — though the sources noted Vance may land on a separate flight. Washington has issued no official statement regarding the US delegation's arrival timeline.

Signs of advance preparations were already visible on the ground, with at least two US aircraft carrying advance delegates and security personnel having landed in Islamabad on Sunday, multiple Pakistani sources told media.

Security in the capital and the neighboring garrison city of Rawalpindi has been locked down in anticipation of the talks, with schools shuttered and thousands of security forces deployed across both cities. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited the US Embassy in Islamabad on Monday to coordinate security arrangements surrounding the upcoming negotiations, a state broadcaster reported.

The talks carry exceptional weight as a fragile two-week ceasefire between the two sides is set to expire Wednesday, leaving little room for diplomatic delay.

Islamabad previously made history by hosting the first direct US-Iran engagement since the two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1979. Those April 11-12 discussions — brokered after Pakistan mediated between the warring parties following the outbreak of conflict on February 28 and helped secure a ceasefire effective April 8 — ended without a breakthrough.

The atmosphere surrounding the second round, however, has grown considerably more volatile. Tensions spiked sharply Monday after US forces seized an Iranian vessel and Tehran responded by reclosing the Strait of Hormuz, rattling both the prospects for diplomacy and global energy markets. President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that American naval forces intercepted and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that attempted to breach the US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, with US Marines currently holding the vessel.

Iran issued a stark warning in response, vowing to retaliate "soon" and denouncing the seizure as a direct violation of the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire that has largely held since its announcement on April 7.

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