<\/p>\n
Pakistan was gearing up to host a possible second round of US\u2013Iran talks, even as uncertainty loomed over whether or not they would take place.<\/p>\n
The talks were thrown into doubt over the weekend when the US Navy fired upon and boarded an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, the first seizure in the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
Pakistan has emerged as the key mediator in brokering a peace deal, hosting the first round of talks on April 11-12. On Monday, security arrangements were again underway in the capital Islamabad.<\/p>\n
The sensitive \u2018Red Zone\u2019 that houses government buildings and the guarded Diplomatic Enclave where most embassies are located has been blocked off to traffic. Inside the zone, the Serena Hotel where Iranian and US officials spent hours locked in negotiations has been closed off to the public. The Marriot and Movenpick hotels have also stopped taking reservations for the next few days.<\/p>\n
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Offices and schools within the zone have been advised to work from home and public transport across the city has been suspended.<\/p>\n
On Sunday evening, US President Donald Trump confirmed a delegation will be traveling to Pakistan on Monday. The delegation will be led by Vice President JD Vance and includes Trump\u2019s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Pakistan\u2019s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with the US embassy officials in Islamabad to discuss security arrangements on Monday.<\/p>\n
Iran, who was represented last time by the speaker of parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, has not yet confirmed its participation.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the phone for 45 minutes on Sunday. Sharif said Pakistan would remain \u201cfully committed to advancing regional peace and security\u201d, in a statement released by his office.<\/p>\n
The first round of talks ended with a brief press conference held by Vance who announced that the two sides had failed to reach an agreement. Since then, diplomatic signaling has remained uneven, with both sides trading barbs on social media.<\/p>\n
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A two-week ceasefire is due to expire on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Pakistan has continued to play a prominent role \u2014 with the country\u2019s powerful army chief Asim Munir traveling to Tehran as part of the mediation efforts. For weeks now, the nuclear-armed nation has leveraged its close ties with both Iran \u2013 with which it shares a border \u2013 and the US to resolve the conflict.<\/p>\n
With neither side fully aligned on conditions, the diplomatic track remains open\u2014but fragile, and increasingly dependent on whether recent escalations at sea derail what remains of the negotiating momentum.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
#Pakistan #prepares #USIran #talks<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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