US, Iran consider second meeting to revive ceasefire talks

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

The US and Iran are considering another round of talks to revive a ceasefire deal after negotiations in Islamabad failed to reach an agreement.

The US and Iran are weighing a second round of talks to revive stalled ceasefire negotiations after weekend discussions in Islamabad ended without a breakthrough, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

The talks, led by US Vice President JD Vance, ended without an agreement according to Bloomberg, but both sides are now weighing a follow-up meeting before a two-week ceasefire announced on April 7 expires next week. One proposal under consideration is to hold a second round in Islamabad, though other potential venues are also being discussed.

Officials speaking to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity said the goal is to keep diplomatic channels open and reach a longer-term arrangement before the temporary truce runs out.

The White House and the United States Department of State did not immediately respond to requests for comment. According to reporting by CNN, US officials are considering the possibility of another meeting, while Shehbaz Sharif said diplomatic efforts are continuing to resolve outstanding issues between Washington and Tehran.

US President Donald Trump also signaled openness to further negotiations, saying Iran had reached out to the United States.

“We’ve been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal,” Trump told reporters at the White House, without specifying who took part in the conversation.

At the same time, Washington has continued to increase pressure on Tehran, moving forward with plans for a naval blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for global energy supplies.

Regional diplomacy has also intensified, with officials from Turkey and Egypt involved in efforts to help end the conflict. According to another person familiar with the discussions, either country could potentially host a future round of negotiations.

Vance returned from Islamabad empty-handed after a day of talks failed to produce an agreement. Both he and Trump said the negotiations collapsed because Iran refused to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Tehran denies seeking to build a nuclear weapon but insists it has the right to enrich uranium. Iranian officials instead blamed the breakdown on what state-linked media described as “excessive” US demands.

Despite the failure, Iran indicated that diplomacy could continue. The country’s foreign ministry said the differences between the two sides would not be resolved in a single round of talks.

In what some observers viewed as a modestly positive signal, Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday that his envoys “became, not surprisingly, very friendly and respectful of Iran’s Representatives.”