Islamabad, April 12
The United States and Iran pushed ahead with rare, face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan into the early hours of Sunday, with both sides attempting to steady a ceasefire that already appears under strain.
The talks come just days after a two-week truce was announced, even as the wider conflict now in its seventh week continues to claim lives and unsettle global markets.
Away from the negotiating table, tensions remained visible. The US military said two of its destroyers had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in preparation for mine-clearing operations, a move that would mark a first since the conflict began. Iranian state media, however, quickly rejected that account, underscoring the mistrust that still defines relations between the two sides.
Speaking as discussions continued late into the night in Islamabad, US President Donald Trump struck a characteristically blunt tone, saying the situation in the strait was being handled regardless of the outcome of the talks. He described the negotiations as “very deep”, though signals from Tehran suggested a more cautious reading, with state television pointing to “serious” differences still unresolved.
At the centre of the talks are two sharply contrasting figures US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Alongside Pakistani officials, they are trying to chart a path forward for a ceasefire already weakened by disagreements and continued Israeli strikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. According to Lebanese health authorities, the conflict there has taken a heavy toll, with thousands reported dead.
The moment carries echoes of history. Direct engagement between Washington and Tehran has been rare since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Even at its most active, diplomacy has been limited from a brief phone call between Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani in 2013, to the long and painstaking negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear agreement involving John Kerry and Mohammad Javad Zarif.
This time, however, the stakes appear wider and the personalities more unpredictable. Vance, relatively new to the diplomatic stage, has warned Iran against testing American resolve. Across the table, Ghalibaf a former Revolutionary Guard commander has been among the most outspoken voices from Tehran since the conflict escalated.
As discussions continue, the outlines of any agreement remain unclear. What is evident, though, is that both sides are negotiating under pressure from events on the ground, from political expectations at home, and from a world watching closely for signs of either breakthrough or breakdown.
