Uncertainty continues to plague the second round of Iran-US peace talks in Islamabad as Iran is yet to confirm the participation of its delegation. As for the US delegation, reports are that U.S. Vice President J D Vance was expected to depart for Pakistan on Tuesday morning.
As per the Iranian state media, no Iranian delegation had yet departed for talks with the United States in Islamabad. “So far, no delegation from Iran has departed for Islamabad, Pakistan; whether it is the main or subsidiary delegation; primary or secondary,” state TV said. This is despite Axios reporting that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei approved a second round of talks.
Earlier, Iranian senior leader and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf had stated that Iran will not accept negotiations under pressure, warning that US President Donald Trump is seeking to turn diplomacy into capitulation. “Trump, by imposing a blockade and violating the ceasefire, seeks, in his imagination, to turn the negotiating table into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering. We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threat, and over the past two weeks, we have prepared to unveil new cards on the battlefield,” he posted on X.
Despite this, a Pakistani source involved in the discussions said there was momentum for talks to recommence on Wednesday. There are also speculations that US President Donald Trump could attend in person, or virtually, if a deal were to be signed.
Though Vance was speculated to arrive in Pakistan on Monday, the plans were dropped after the US delegation did not receive any signal from Iran about its intentions to attend the talks, according to an Axios report. The delegation spent all of Monday waiting for a signal from the Islamic Republic. The report said Tehran was stalling, amid pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on other elements of the regime not to negotiate unless the US ends its blockade of Iranian ports and ships.
The regime was reportedly waiting for a green light from its Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, which came late on Monday night.