{"id":76659,"date":"2026-04-21T16:36:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/76659\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T16:36:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T16:36:03","slug":"u-s-and-iran-signal-new-round-of-talks-as-ceasefire-nears-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/76659\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. and Iran signal new round of talks as ceasefire nears end"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Billboards are erected near the Serena Hotel ahead of the second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday.Anjum Naveed\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

The United States and Iran have signalled they will hold a new round of ceasefire talks in Pakistan, two regional officials said Tuesday, as leaders on both sides warned they were prepared for more fighting if a fragile two-week truce expires without a deal.<\/p>\n

Neither the U.S. nor Iran has publicly confirmed the timing of the talks in Islamabad, with Iranian state television denying any official was already in Pakistan\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

Pakistan-led mediators received confirmation that the top negotiators, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance and Iran\u2019s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, will arrive in Islamabad early Wednesday to lead their teams in the talks, the regional officials told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.<\/p>\n

A ceasefire that began April 8 was set to expire Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Trump says he doesn\u2019t favour extending ceasefire<\/p>\n

Both sides remain dug in rhetorically. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that \u201clots of bombs\u201d will \u201cstart going off\u201d if there\u2019s no agreement before the ceasefire deadline, and Iran\u2019s chief negotiator said that Tehran has \u201cnew cards on the battlefield\u201d that haven\u2019t yet been revealed.<\/p>\n

The ceasefire could be extended if talks resume, though Trump said in an interview Tuesday with CNBC: \u201cWell, I don\u2019t want to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have that much time,\u201d Trump said, adding that Iran \u201chad a choice\u201d and \u201cthey have to negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Analysis: The stakes are high for the U.S. and Iran ahead of peace talks<\/a><\/p>\n

White House officials have said that Vance would lead the American delegation, but Iran hasn\u2019t said who it might send. Iranian state television on Tuesday broadcast a message saying that \u201cno delegation from Iran has visited Islamabad \u2026 so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iranian state TV long has been controlled by hard-liners within Iran\u2019s theocracy. The on-screen alert likely reflects the ongoing internal debate within Iran\u2019s theocracy as it weighs how to respond to the U.S. Navy\u2019s seizure of an Iranian container ship over the weekend.<\/p>\n

U.S. says its forces board sanctioned oil tanker<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the U.S. said its forces boarded an oil tanker previously sanctioned for smuggling Iranian crude oil in Asia. The Pentagon said in a social media post that U.S. forces boarded the M\/T Tifani \u201cwithout incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. military did not say where the vessel had been boarded, though ship-tracking data showed the Tifani in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The statement added that \u201cinternational waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. military on Sunday seized an Iranian cargo vessel, the first interception under blockade of Iranian ports. Iran\u2019s joint military command called the armed boarding an act of piracy and a violation of the ceasefire.<\/p>\n

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Ships and boats in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman, on Monday.Reuters\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Strait of Hormuz control key to negotiations<\/p>\n

The U.S. imposed the blockade to pressure Tehran into ending its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through which 20 per cent of the world\u2019s natural gas and crude oil transits in peacetime.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s grip on the strait has sent oil prices soaring. Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at close to US$95 per barrel on Tuesday, up more than 30 per cent from Feb. 28, the day that Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran to start the war.<\/p>\n

Before the war began, the Strait of Hormuz had been fully open to international shipping. Trump has demanded that vessels again be allowed to transit unimpeded through the waterway.<\/p>\n

Trump confirmed to CNBC interview that the U.S. is considering a currency swap with the United Arab Emirates, whose oil-rich economy has been rattled by the Iran conflict.<\/p>\n

Oil prices dip as markets await possible U.S.-Iran talks<\/a><\/p>\n

In a possible swap, the UAE would use its currency, the dirham, as collateral to borrow U.S. dollars. The UAE relies on dollar-denominated transactions as part of its global commerce, which has been disrupted by the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

European Union transportation ministers were meeting Tuesday in Brussels to discuss how to protect consumers after the head of the International Energy Agency warned that Europe has \u201cmaybe six weeks\u201d of jet fuel supplies remaining.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Iran said that it had received new proposals from Washington, but also suggested that a wide gap remains between the sides. Issues that derailed the last round of negotiations included Iran\u2019s nuclear enrichment program, its regional proxies and the strait.<\/p>\n

Qalibaf on Tuesday accused the United States of wanting Iran to surrender.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats,\u201d he wrote in an X post.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Police officers stand guard at a checkpoint to ensure security ahead of the second round of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, in Islamabad.Anjum Naveed\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Pakistan hopeful talks will proceed<\/p>\n

Pakistani officials have expressed confidence that Iran will also send a delegation to resume talks that mark the highest-level negotiations between the U.S. and Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The first round April 11 and 12 ended without an agreement.<\/p>\n

Pakistan said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met Tuesday with the acting U.S. ambassador in Islamabad to urge a ceasefire extension. Dar also met with the ambassador from China, a key trading partner with Iran.<\/p>\n

Security has been tightened across Pakistan\u2019s capital, where authorities have deployed thousands of personnel and increased patrols along routes leading to the airport.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A member of the Lebanese army looks at rescuers searching for victims at the site of an Israeli strike on a bridge carried out before a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect, in Qasmiyeh, southern Lebanon, on Monday.Aziz Taher\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Israel jails soldiers for defacing Jesus statue in Lebanon<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s military said Tuesday it has sentenced two soldiers to 30 days in jail and removed them from combat duty for smashing a statue of Jesus Christ in Lebanon. Images of an Israeli soldier with a sledgehammer smashing the statue\u2019s head emerged over the weekend, bringing widespread condemnation.<\/p>\n

Israel said one of the soldiers being punished hammered the statue to the ground. The other filmed the destruction.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, historic diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon were set to resume on Thursday in Washington, an Israeli, a Lebanese and a U.S. official said. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes negotiations.<\/p>\n

Opinion: Regime change is the only responsible option to eliminate the threat of Iran<\/a><\/p>\n

The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met last week for the first direct diplomatic talks in decades. Israel says the talks are aimed at disarming Hezbollah and reaching a peace agreement with Lebanon.<\/p>\n

A 10-day ceasefire began on Friday in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants broke out two days after the U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran to start the war. Fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 2,290 people.<\/p>\n

Since the war started, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, according to authorities. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Billboards are erected near the Serena Hotel ahead of the second round of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[950,936,951,158,928,952,949,927,942,943,939,929,926,147,948,703,941,934,963,930,931,394,34,937,938,674,953,345,958,959,961,956,960,954,957,932,945,946,81,944,955,935,947,69,462,940,933,82,962],"class_list":{"0":"post-76659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tehran","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-iran","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-new-brunswick","37":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","38":"tag-northwest-territories","39":"tag-nova-scotia","40":"tag-nunavut","41":"tag-ontario","42":"tag-pei","43":"tag-photos","44":"tag-political-news","45":"tag-political-opinion","46":"tag-politics","47":"tag-politics-news","48":"tag-quebec","49":"tag-sports-news","50":"tag-technology","51":"tag-tehran","52":"tag-travel","53":"tag-trudeau","54":"tag-us-news","55":"tag-world-news","56":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}