Iran's delegation to the new round of negotiations in Islamabad, announced on Friday, refuses to speak directly with the American team and has reiterated its preconditions for talks, none of which indicate this round is going anywhere.
Friday, the White House announced that Iran had requested another round of talks and Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were immediately dispatched to Islamabad; see Another Islamabad Round Begins As Iran Undercuts Ceasefire and Trump Faces Hard Choices – RedState. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was cautious about the prospect: "So Steve and Jared will be heading to Pakistan tomorrow to hear the Iranians out. We hope progress will be made, and we hope that positive developments will come from this meeting. Uh, and we'll see. The president, the vice president, Secretary of State will be waiting here in the United States for updates. The vice president is on standby, willing to dispatch to Pakistan if he feels it's a necessary use of his time."
The Iranians, according to Reuters, have ruled out face-to-face negotiations and have said that Iran will not accede to U.S. demands. "Principally, Iranian side will not accept maximalist demands," said a member of the Iranian team in Islamabad.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir in Islamabad, according to pictures released by state media, during his visit for regional consultations. pic.twitter.com/yh4gyWVoT7
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 25, 2026
And they demand an end to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports as a precondition for in-person talks.
Informed sources are saying:
— Kamran Khan (@AajKamranKhan) April 25, 2026
Prospects for the resumption of the second round of U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad today are rapidly fading, as Tehran is still not ready to meet the U.S. delegation, which was expected to arrive late tonight from Washington. Iran continues to insist…
In yesterday's post, my assessment was:
Bottom line:
No one on the U.S. team can make a deal. Anything offered by the Iranians has to come back to Washington.
No one on the Iranian team can make a deal; in fact, it is doubtful that they can offer any concessions on Trump's four key demands and control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The decision not to send Vice President Vance indicates there are no expectations of a breakthrough.
The Iranians asking for talks without any intention of giving Trump what he wants is the same strategy Nicolás Maduro used to such great success.
Nothing has changed. In fact, the lines have hardened. The Iranian leadership is clearly messaging for the benefit of their internal audience, because the last thing they need right now is a hundred thousand protesters on the streets or their proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iraq to start looking for the doors. They have calculated that Trump wants out of the war more than they feel the necessity of making it stop, and they are willing to take the pain of another round of bombing because they've calculated that, in the end, Trump will go away. This employment of some sort of Regency "cut indirect," where they refuse to acknowledge our existence, is a bit childish by Western mores, but apparently has real meaning among the less civilized peoples.
President Trump issued a demand for "unconditional surrender," see Trump Outlines Iran’s Only Option to End the Relentless Onslaught: ‘Unconditional Surrender’ – RedState. Iran has called him. The ball is now in Trump's court: cave or fight.
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