The United States expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would resume in Pakistan and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was positively reviewing its participation, though significant uncertainty remained as the two-week ceasefire neared expiry.
A Pakistani source involved in the discussions told Reuters there was momentum for talks to recommence on Wednesday. “Things are moving forward and the talks are on track for tomorrow,” the source said, adding that President Donald Trump could attend in person or virtually if a deal were signed. US Vice President JD Vance was reported by Axios to be travelling to Pakistan on Tuesday for negotiations, while the Wall Street Journal said Iran had told regional mediators it would send a delegation — reports Reuters could not immediately confirm.
Oil prices fell more than a dollar and Asian stocks bounced back in early Tuesday trading on expectations the talks would resume, partially reversing a 6% surge in oil prices on Monday. Brent crude declined 1.1% to $94.44 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate fell 1.9% to $87.95.
Defiant rhetoric from Tehran, however, underlined the fragility of the moment. Iran’s foreign ministry condemned Sunday’s US seizure of the Iranian commercial vessel Touska, demanded the immediate release of the ship, its crew and their families, and warned Washington would bear “full responsibility for any further escalation.” A senior Iranian military commander said forces were ready to deliver an “immediate and decisive response” to any renewed hostility. Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan wrote on X that no great civilisation negotiates under threat or force.
Iran’s top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf accused Trump of trying to “turn the negotiating table into a table of submission,” while Tehran’s officials cited the ongoing US port blockade and the Touska seizure as ceasefire violations and obstacles to diplomacy. Maritime security sources said the vessel was likely carrying items Washington considers dual-use military goods. China, Iran’s main oil buyer, expressed concern over what it called the “forced interception.”
The ceasefire is set to expire at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. Washington has lobbied for an agreement that prevents Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and halts the oil price shock caused by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran hopes to leverage its control of the waterway to secure a deal that eases sanctions without constraining its nuclear programme. Pakistan, which has deployed nearly 20,000 security personnel across Islamabad ahead of the potential talks, has also lobbied Washington to lift its port blockade.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the US was on the brink of a deal. “Thanks to the success of the military operation and his hardline negotiating style, we’re on the brink of a deal,” she said on Fox News. “And if not, the president, as commander in chief, still has a number of options at his disposal that he’s unafraid to use.”
Thousands of people have been killed by US-Israeli strikes on Iran and in a parallel Israeli invasion of Lebanon since the war began on 28 February, triggering a historic shock to global energy supplies and IMF warnings of recession risk.
(Reuters)