Washington, DC: A fresh round of negotiations between the US and Iran is likely to take place later this week, before the two-week ceasefire between the two warring nations ends.
US media reports have said that president Donald Trump has shown a willingness to resume in-person negotiations soon if he believes Tehran is ready to submit to his demands.
This comes after the talks in Islamabad failed.
Washington and Tehran are weighing new in-person negotiations in a bid to reach a deal aimed at ending their six-week war before the ceasefire expires on April 21, Associated Press has reported, citing sources.
Discussions are still underway about a new round of talks, three sources told the American news agency. A diplomat from one of the mediating countries went further to say that Tehran and Washington have agreed to it.
Details are still sketchy and it is unclear whether the same level of delegation would be expected to attend, the diplomat and US officials said. According to the report, Islamabad and Geneva are two of the possible locations being discussed for the new round of talks.
The US official said that the venue and timing had not been decided, but the talks could happen on Thursday, as reported by NDTV.
Trump told reporters earlier on Monday that “we’ve been called by the other side” and “they want to work a deal.”
On Sunday, the US and Iran ended 21 hours of face-to-face talks in Islamabad, without reaching a deal, leaving the fate of the fragile, two-week ceasefire still unclear. The US delegation, led by vice president J D Vance, and the Iranian delegation, led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, had discussed how to advance a ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
One of the most important issues at stake is the Strait of Hormuz, a major transit point for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively blocked. The US has now imposed a naval blockade on ports in Iran.
