Two days before the expiration of the ceasefire between the United States and Iran, President Donald Trump has confirmed that the American delegation, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, “is already heading” to Islamabad (Pakistan) and “will arrive tonight.” However, sources consulted by The New York Times state that it has not yet taken off and “is now expected to travel on Tuesday.”
Uncertainty surrounds the second round of dialogue since the truce began on April 8, whose conditions have been discussed by both parties, who accuse each other of violating the agreement. Tehran, which initially denied it would attend the negotiations, stated this Monday that it is considering it after Pakistan’s mediation, according to a senior Iranian official cited by Reuters.
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“We are supposed to have talks,” Trump told his allied portal New York Post. “I assume that, at this point, no one is playing games,” he added, alluding to Iran’s contradictory messages in recent hours. In the same interview, he also assured that he is willing to participate directly in future dialogues with Iran’s leaders. “I have no problem meeting with them,” he said, for the first time since his war began: “We have very capable people, but I have no problem meeting with them.”
The first meeting, two weekends ago in Islamabad, ended without any apparent result towards a peace agreement. Washington is not willing to accept any pact in which Tehran does not surrender its enriched uranium, but that remains a red line for the ayatollahs’ regime. After its failure, Trump instituted a naval blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz, which has been de facto closed by Iran since the beginning of the war as a retaliatory measure.
U.S. Central Command reported this morning that it has already turned back 27 vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports. This Sunday, the Pentagon boarded and captured an Iranian cargo ship with 5,000 containers, the Touska, in the Gulf of Oman, which had attempted to evade the blockade. The seizure occurred after Tehran fired upon two vessels attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump shows willingness, for the first time since launching his war, to meet directly with Iran’s leaders
The Iranian army stated that the ship captured by the U.S. came from China and accused Washington of “armed piracy,” calling the act a “flagrant aggression,” and promised retaliation, while also noting that the naval blockade is an obstacle to the second round of dialogue.
“There are no plans” for new talks with Washington, the spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this morning. Its president, Masoud Pezeshkian, stated that Tehran will stand firm “against injustice and excessive demands,” although he also acknowledged that continuing the war “benefits no one,” expressing his openness to negotiation.
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In the days and hours leading up to the April 11 meeting in Islamabad, Iran also sent contradictory messages about the possibility of dialogue, although it ultimately did send its delegation, which left the Pakistani capital after 21 hours of fruitless negotiation.
As on that occasion, the U.S. delegation will be led by Vance, one of the Administration members who most championed the pacifist discourse before the war, but who has aligned himself with Trump throughout the conflict. Also attending Islamabad are the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his close friend and special envoy to the conflicts in which he intervenes, Steve Witkoff.
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Asked over the weekend about the possibility of an extension to the ceasefire, which expires on Wednesday, Trump replied: “I don’t know. Maybe not. I might not extend it. But the blockade will continue.” This morning, he insisted that it is “highly unlikely” that he will extend the truce if there is no agreement. And he reiterated his red line: “Iran must get rid of its nuclear weapons, it’s that simple.”
The U.S. still cannot find a viable way out, one that would allow it to sell a real victory to an American public tired of this unpopular war, which has now entered its eighth week. Trump initially promised that the large-scale military aggression, the largest in two decades for the U.S., was an “excursion” that would end in “four or five weeks.” Two weeks ago, he gave a speech to the nation asking for more time, and stated that in the following two weeks he would bomb “hard” until his objectives were met. But peace still seems just as distant now.
Finally, after mediation by Pakistan and other countries in the region, he withdrew his threat to extinguish Iran’s “entire civilization” and agreed to a two-week truce. That agreement included the reopening of Hormuz by Tehran and the cessation of hostilities by both parties, as well as between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. All these conditions were violated by both parties, although Lebanon and Israel eventually agreed to another 10-day truce.
Both agreements have been maintained in a fragile and unstable ceasefire and, in this context, Trump resumed his usual threatening tone on Sunday, which always escalates in the days leading up to dialogue rounds. “We have offered a very fair and reasonable deal, and I hope they accept it because, if they don’t, the U.S. is going to destroy every single power plant and every single bridge in Iran. Mr. Nice Guy is over!”
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