The headline is via Reuters in citing Iran’s state media as saying that no delegation has yet departed for Pakistan to attend peace talks.
This sort of political positioning by Iran isn’t anything new. We have seen it already just before the first round of talks in Islamabad. The grandstanding looks more to do with how they want to play to the optics, especially to the domestic scene. However, it doesn’t mean that they will not be open to come to the negotiating table.
As things stand, Iran is maintaining their position that there is no point in negotiating when it is under threat by the US. The message is basically “lift the naval blockade, and then we will talk”. Pakistan has also already communicated that to Trump, so we’ll have to wait and see if the US will respond accordingly to facilitate matters.
What I will be watching for is when US vice president Vance will be arriving in Islamabad, if he even is. Trump said that he was already on the way yesterday but that turned out to be a false start. There are murmurs that he will be flying in later today/tonight and that will be a sign at least that talks should proceed.
However, whether or not we will come to a deal is a separate issue. But if anything else, it is likely that the ceasefire will be extended. While that may seem like a positive, it just means that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed for at least another week or two as this whole saga is prolonged.
