With the two-week ceasefire set to end on Wednesday, Iran appears to be boycotting the negotiations scheduled for Islamabad, Pakistan.
While a high-level U.S. delegation is heading for Pakistan, the Iranian regime is refusing to confirm its participation in the second round of talks.
“President Donald Trump says his representatives, headed by Vice President JD Vance, will return to Pakistan for negotiations,” the BBC reported. “Iran has yet to confirm they are attending.”
Iran’s state media declared that the regime will not join the negotiations unless the U.S. ends its blockade. Last Sunday, President Trump ordered the Navy to blockade Iranian ports after the first round of talks failed in Pakistan.
Reuters said that “[t]here is currently no decision by Iran to send a negotiating delegation to Pakistan “as long as there is a naval blockade,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday, citing its reporter.”
President Donald Trump confirmed on Truth Social that U.S. “Representatives are going to Islamabad, Pakistan — They will be there tomorrow evening, for Negotiations.”
The U.S. will participate in the talks despite recent Iranian attacks on shipping and the regime’s attempts to reassert its control over the Strait of Hormuz, thereby disrupting the global energy supply.
Axios reported:
Vice President Vance will lead a U.S. delegation for another round of talks with Iran in Islamabad before the ceasefire is scheduled to end on Tuesday, two U.S. officials tell Axios.Trump had previously said his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would depart for Pakistan on Sunday. (…)Iran attacked several commercial vessels on Saturday after announcing it was once again closing the Strait of Hormuz. (…)Trump convened an unusual Saturday Situation Room meeting in response to the new crisis. A U.S. official said that at the end of the meeting Trump still expressed a desire to try reach a deal with Iran, before exploring other options.
President Donald Trump warned Tehran to take his offer seriously or face the destruction of its energy and logistical infrastructure.
He said on Truth Social that the U.S was “offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran. NO MORE MR. NICE GUY.”
The Iranian aggression in the Strait of Hormuz coincides with ceasefire violations by Hezbollah. On Thursday, President Trump announced a temporary truce, pausing a 6-week conflict that erupted after Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel on Iran’s behalf.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY