ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Islamabad is doing its utmost to ensure that the second round of peace talks between Washington and Tehran takes place, a senior Pakistani official said on Tuesday, amid speculation that Iran may skip the negotiations due to ongoing tensions with the United States. This comes as a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan is set to expire on Wednesday.
“We are trying round the clock for everyone to agree on mutual terms,” Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, tourism advisor to the Pakistani premier, told Rudaw’s Dilnya Rahman in Islamabad.
Pakistani mediation brought Washington and Tehran to the negotiating table, tenuously ending the nearly six-week war between the two foes through a fragile two-week ceasefire that will expire early Wednesday.
“I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire,” Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistani prime minister, said on April 8.
Islamabad will host the second round of talks, which is expected to be held later this week. The American and Iranian delegations are yet to arrive at the Pakistani capital.
It makes “perfect sense to have these talks in Pakistan because Pakistan is mediating and playing a major role in this whole situation,” Sharif’s advisor stated.
Both sides during this delicate period have resorted to escalations. Washington on April 13 imposed a military blockade on Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, forcing back around two dozens of the country’s ships and seizing one on Sunday. In response, Iran sustained the closure of the strategic waterway through which one-fifth of global energy supplies pass. The US army said on Tuesday that it had boarded a “stateless” oil tanker in the areas under its blockade.
US President Donald Trump claimed in a social media post on Tuesday that Tehran has violated the ceasefire “numerous” times.
Accordingly, US and Iranian officials have exchanged threats to end the talks, with Tehran saying that it will not negotiate under pressure.
Ilyas Khan also told Rudaw that negotiations between Washington and Tehran are ongoing despite looming uncertainties.
“As far as I know the negotiations are already happening,” he said, adding that what has slowed down the talks is “just a matter of perspective” as both sides claim to have legitimate demands.
The US and Israel initiated a massive aerial campaign on Iran in late February, targeting around 15,000 sites in the country and killing about 3,400 people, most of whom are believed to be military personnel.
In retaliation, Iran and its regional proxies fired about 7,000 drones and missiles, killing around hundred and injuring about 1,000 others, including US and Israeli soldiers.
“I think there's nobody at this stage who would want war and for this war to prolong anymore,” Ilyad Khan said.