Diplomatic efforts to end the US-Iran conflict may not be dead as negotiators from both countries are considering a return to Islamabad for another round of talks later this week, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions a development that would signal at least a partial thaw after last weekend’s high-level engagement ended without a breakthrough.
No date has been locked in, but sources say both delegations are keeping Friday through Sunday available for a potential second meeting.
Pakistani officials, who have played a central mediating role throughout, are said to be actively working to finalise the timing with counterparts in Washington and Tehran.
A senior Iranian official confirmed that discussions remain fluid, while indicating that willingness exists on both sides to push forward.
That cautious but notable signal of intent comes despite the considerable distance that still separates the two parties.
Last weekend’s round in Islamabad was historic by any measure the most senior direct engagement between US and Iranian officials in over a decade, and the highest-level contact since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
JD Vance led the American delegation; Iran sent parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Yet for all its significance, the meeting produced no agreement.
The sticking points remain formidable.
Iran’s nuclear programme, the lifting of international sanctions, and control over the Strait of Hormuz the narrow waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply flows are all unresolved.
The Hormuz question in particular has become the most volatile flashpoint of the conflict, with the US blockade of Iranian ports now in effect and Tehran threatening retaliation against Gulf neighbours.
A ceasefire announced last week has held, but only just. With key demands from both sides still unmet and military pressure building, the situation remains as fragile as it is consequential.
The prospect of a second Islamabad meeting, even if unconfirmed, offers the clearest sign yet that back-channel diplomacy is still alive.
Whether negotiators can bridge gaps that proved unbridgeable last weekend and do so against a backdrop of an active blockade, rising oil prices and mounting international pressure remains the defining question of the week ahead.
