E-Paper
Sign In
Pakistan gears up for second round of US-Iran talks as ‘backchannel communications’ continue
Sources familiar with the matter told Khaleej Times the US and Iranian delegations are likely to return to the negotiating table in Islamabad later this week
- PUBLISHED: Tue 14 Apr 2026, 6:04 PM
[Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog amid US-Israel-Iran war for the latest regional developments.]
Pakistan is gearing up to host a second round of talks between the United States and Iran later this week with backchannel communications aimed at bringing the two sides together for more talks.
Recommended For You
Sources familiar with the matter told Khaleej Times the US and Iranian delegations are likely to return to the negotiating table in Islamabad, as both sides race against time to hammer out a broader agreement before the ceasefire deadline expires on April 21.
A senior Pakistani official involved in the Iran-US engagement over recent weeks said Islamabad has "pulled out all the diplomatic stops to facilitate the talks during the third week of April".
“The US and Iran are maintaining backchannel communications through mediators, with Pakistan playing a central and constructive role,” the official told Khaleej Times on condition of anonymity.
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
Khaleej Times has also reached out to the US State Department’s Office of Press Relations to confirm whether the US President will visit Pakistan to sign an agreement, but no response has been received at the time of filing this report.
Trump going to Islamabad?
Meanwhile, US media reports indicate US President Donald Trump is willing to return to face-to-face negotiations if Tehran meets his conditions, raising hopes for diplomacy.
“Chatter is everywhere in Washington DC that President Trump is going to Islamabad to meet Irani delegation to finalise (an agreement),” Sajid N. Tarar, founder of American Muslims for Trump, and an analyst on US-Pakistan Relations & South Asia Geopolitics, said on X.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also expected to travel to Pakistan, provided backchannel discussions clear the path for a comprehensive strategic agreement that could lead to the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran and the unfreezing of foreign assets worth billions of dollars.
“It would be one of the most significant developments in decades if the Iranian and US presidents were to meet and sign a peace accord in Islamabad,” a senior official said.
“Such an agreement would pave the way for the restoration of diplomatic relations between Washington and Tehran.”
US and Iran earlier had 21 hours of face-to-face talks in Islamabad on Sunday without clinching a deal, leaving the fate of the fragile two-week ceasefire hanging in the balance.
The marathon discussions marked the highest-level engagement between the two sides since Iran’s 1979 revolution.
A wide range of sensitive issues remained on the table, including the Strait of Hormuz — a critical artery for global energy supplies that Iran has effectively blocked and which the United States has vowed to reopen, as well as Iran’s nuclear programme and international sanctions imposed on Tehran.
"There was a strong hope in the middle of the talks that there would be a breakthrough and the two sides would reach an agreement. However, things changed within no time," a Pakistani government source told Reuters.
