Talks between the US and Iran could resume this week. The two adversaries have shown cautious overtures, while the regional mediators are at work
There is perhaps still hope for reviving diplomacy between the United States and Iran. According to Reuters, Washington and Tehran could resume negotiations in Islamabad this week. As of yesterday evening, however, a date had not yet been set. In particular, CNN reported that the Trump administration is considering whether or not to start a second round of negotiations after those held on Saturday which ended in stalemate.
At the same time, the same newspaper reported that, according to a US official, contacts between Washington and Tehran are still ongoing. “There is constant dialogue between the United States and Iran and progress is being made towards reaching an agreement,” he said. Furthermore, it is no mystery that, as underlined the day before yesterday by AxiosPakistan, Egypt and Türkiye are pushing for talks to resume before the ceasefire expires on April 21. From this aspect, Donald Trump would in fact be considering the possibility of attacking Iranian energy infrastructures, if the naval blockade imposed on Hormuz does not push Tehran to soften its negotiating position.
In this context, timidly relaxing signals arrived from both adversaries. “I think we’ve reached a point where we’ve achieved our goals and we can begin to wrap this up,” JD Vance said Monday evening, referring to the Iranian crisis. “I would much prefer to end it with a successful negotiation, but in any case, the president said it won’t last forever,” he added. It is important to remember that, in addition to being the figure most inclined towards a diplomatic solution within the White House, the American vice president was head of Washington’s negotiating team in Islamabad. Trump himself, speaking Tuesday at New York Postsaid talks in Pakistan could resume in the next couple of days. “Something could happen in the next couple of days, and we are more inclined to go there,” he said. «It’s more likely, do you know why? Because the field marshal is doing a great job,” he added, referring to Pakistan Defense Forces chief General Asim Munir.
On the other side, second BloombergIran is reportedly considering suspending traffic in the Strait of Hormuz to avoid putting the naval blockade imposed by the United States to the test and thus avoid compromising the possibility of a resumption of talks with the Trump administration. On the other hand, as already mentioned, regional mediators are also getting busy. In fact, it has been reported that the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt will meet this week to discuss tensions between Washington and Tehran. In short, diplomacy is at work, although the unknowns remain numerous.
