US, Iran To Hold 2nd Round Of Talks In Pakistan Today. What's On Agenda?

While US President Donald Trump is sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, state-run IRNA news agency said Iran will be represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

25 Apr 2026, 04:02 · NDTV

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Iran and US will hold second round of talks in Pakistan amid Middle East ceasefire
US envoys Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner will attend the talks, while Iran will be represented by Abbas Araghchi
The first round of talks in April was inconclusive over uranium enrichment and regional issues

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New Delhi:

As a delicate ceasefire remains in place in the Middle East, Iran and US are set to hold a second round of talks in Pakistan on Saturday.

While US President Donald Trump is sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, state-run IRNA news agency said Iran will be represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi for "bilateral consultations".

The talks come a day after the Iran-Hezbollah ceasefire was extended by three weeks, though the war that started after US and Israel traded attacks with Iran on February 28 is nowhere near an apparent end.

The White House said emissaries would engage in an "in-person conversation" with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said that direct negotiations were not in the cards.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview on Fox News Channel that the two envoys will have talks with Araghchi. "We're hopeful that it will be a productive conversation and hopefully move the ball forward to a deal," Leavitt said. She said that Vice President JD Vance would not be traveling but that he remains "deeply involved."

An Iranian spokesman said Araghchi would visit Oman and Russia after the Pakistan stop to discuss efforts to end the war.

This is the second round of talks being held in Islamabad after the first round on April 11-12 was inconclusive. The talks between the US and Iran failed in Islamabad due to disagreement on three crucial issues, including Tehran's highly enriched uranium (HEU) and its nuclear future, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel's war in Lebanon. Iran has asserted its right to enrich uranium. However, it has been said that the level of enrichment could be negotiated.

US Vice President JD Vance said no headway was made during 21 hours of negotiations with Iran. "Their nuclear program and the enrichment facilities they had before have been destroyed. But we do not see a commitment to not develop more nuclear weapons," he had added.

Pakistan has emerged as a central player in helping de-escalate the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran, with Munir, alongside Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, leading mediation efforts. Islamabad has used its close ties with Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the US and China, to provide a communication channel between the warring parties.

The talks in Pakistan were the among highest diplomatic engagements since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The highest-level direct contact had been when President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in September 2013 called newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

Efforts to bring the two sides back to the table have hit an impasse, with Iran refusing to participate as long as a US naval blockade on its ports remained in place. Iran has imposed a de facto blockade of its own on the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only a trickle of ships to pass through the vital waterway, throwing global energy markets into turmoil.

The United States continued meanwhile to build up its forces in the Middle East with the arrival of its third aircraft carrier in the region, the USS George HW Bush. It also announced it is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.

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