Iran’s delegation for a second round of ceasefire talks with the United States has not yet departed for Islamabad, Iranian state television reported, raising fresh uncertainty over whether the meeting expected on April 22 will go ahead as planned.
AP and other outlets reported April 21 (local time) that Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said in a breaking report that “no Iranian delegation has arrived in Islamabad so far.” Al Jazeera also reported that key Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, had not left for Pakistan and remained in Iran.
The reports contrasted with earlier accounts. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that Iran had told mediators it would send a delegation to Islamabad on April 21. Reuters also reported, citing a Pakistani source involved in the talks, that the second round would be held Wednesday, April 22.
With Iran’s delegation still not en route, questions have resurfaced about whether the second round will take place.
AP said Iran may be engaged in internal debate over how to respond after the U.S. Navy seized an Iranian vessel over the weekend. Axios also reported, citing a source, that discussions on the second round had stalled as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps urged maintaining a hard-line stance toward the United States.
On the U.S. side, Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the American delegation, was expected to leave for Pakistan no later than the morning of April 21. President Donald Trump told Bloomberg in an interview April 20 that Vance would depart for Islamabad later that day and said the second round would take place “Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.