No delegation sent to Islamabad; Iran-US talks in doubt as Tehran holds back participation as Ceasefire nears end

Iran-US talks teeter in uncertainty as Iran announces "no plans to attend" Islamabad negotiations. With Trump refusing to extend the ceasefire deadline, expiring Wednesday, the war's trajectory hangs in balance, while US President expects a 'great deal.'

As the fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran nears its expiry on Wednesday, prospects for resuming peace talks remained clouded on Tuesday, with Tehran yet to commit to participating in negotiations scheduled in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump continued to project confidence that a deal could still materialise, insisting the US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, along with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, was prepared to engage. However, Iranian officials have repeatedly stated they will not negotiate “under threat” or while the US maintains its naval blockade and other pressure measures.

No delegation sent to Islamabad

Leaving open the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for 20 per cent of global oil and gas transport that has fuelled an economic crisis, hinges on the resumption of negotiations leading to a deal.

Senior Iranian officials quoted by Iranian media said that no delegation had gone to Islamabad and reiterated Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf’s assertion that talks would not take place.

“No delegation from Iran has gone to Islamabad, Pakistan; neither a main nor a subsidiary delegation; neither primary nor secondary,” IRIB news agency quoted senior officials as saying, according to Iran’s PressTV.

Also Read: Trump rules out ceasefire extension, expects 'great deal' with Iran as deadline nears end

Confident Trump expects ‘great deal’

Reflecting his optimism, President Trump told an interviewer on CNBC that they had no choice but to send a delegation to the talks.

“What I think is that we’re going to end up with is a great deal,” he added, saying that Iran had no choice.

On Truth Social, he stated that Iranian leaders "will soon be in negotiations with my representatives," while urging them to free eight Iranian women facing execution.

However, Vice President JD Vance, set to depart for Islamabad Tuesday morning to lead U.S. talks, postponed his trip, per multiple U.S media reports.

No extension of the ceasefire

Even if the talks resumed, Trump indicated he did not want to extend the 14-day ceasefire, which ends at midnight at the latest.

He flatly told CNBC that he did not want to do that.

“I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” he said, referring to the talks.

The uncertainty over resuming talks has jeopardized Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X that Iran’s attendance before the two-week ceasefire expires, in mere hours, is crucial. He confirmed no formal confirmation from Tehran yet, though Islamabad remains in constant contact.

The continuation of talks has been complicated by the United States seizure of an Iranian ship on Monday, after Iran reneged on an earlier announcement that it would open the Strait of Hormuz, and Washington imposed a blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran fired on two Indian ships in the Strait of Hormuz when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps closed it.

Trump wants Iran to permanently drop any nuclear ambitions and give up any remnants of enriched uranium in the rubble of nuclear facilities bombed last year, as well as end missile programmes.

Tehran has opposed those conditions.

On the Iranian side, there appears to be a conflict between hardliners and moderates over how to deal with the United States.

After Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced the Strait was open, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps countermanded him, and Qalibaf, who had participated with him in talks with the United States on April 11, took a harder line on restarting negotiations.

Trump’s praise, coupled with stark warning to Iran

Trump has been vacillating on his negotiating position, blowing hot and cold.

On Monday, he said he was offering Iran a better deal than it had received under an international agreement he had denounced as too conciliatory towards Tehran and scrapped in his first term.

In his CNBC interview on Tuesday, he said that Iran could get itself on a very good footing if it made a deal and could become a strong and wonderful nation again, adding that it had incredible people.

But he has also renewed on Truth Social his threat to obliterate Iran’s power grid and its bridge network if it did not agree to a deal.


(with Inputs from agencies)