Islamabad Back in Play: Donald Trump Envoys, Abbas Araghchi Head For Crucial Talks

ISLAMABAD: Hopes for the resumption of stalled US-Iran talks were revived after reports emerged from Tehran and Washington that the respective delegations of Iran and United States are headed towards Islamabad.

Both Pakistani and Iranian officials informed the public that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on Friday night. Foreign Minister Araghchi confirmed this in a tweet, however tried to hint that his Islamabad visit was not part of Islamabad’s mediation efforts.

“Embarking on timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow. Purpose of my visits is to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments” foreign Minister Araghchi said in a tweet.

Meanwhile US leading news channel, CNN reported that President ‌Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan soon for talks with ⁠Iran’s foreign minister.

Vice President JD Vance is not currently planning to ‌attend , but he will be on standby to travel to ⁠Islamabad if negotiations progress, according to CNN, which ⁠first recorded the travel plans.

Araghchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad with a small team, with state media reporting that peace talks with the US are likely to take place, raising hope that negotiations could resume after they collapsed earlier this week.

The sources said that a second round of peace talks with the United States was also expected. They added that a logistics and security team from the US was already in the federal capital.

On the other hand, while confirming the visit, Iran’s state media said that Araghchi would hold “bilateral consultations”.

“Iran’s foreign minister will begin a regional tour on Friday evening, April 24, travelling to Islamabad, Muscat and Moscow,” the official IRNA news agency said.

“The purpose of this trip is to hold bilateral consultations, discuss ongoing developments in the region, and review the latest situation regarding the war imposed by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran,” it said.
Officials in Islamabad emphasized that Pakistan’s efforts to bring the two sides to the negotiating table are continuing. Both Field Marsha Asim Munir and Prime Minister, shehbaz Sharif were in constant touch with officials in Washington and Tehran.

One Pakistan former diplomat told a news channel that there are reports that Araghchi is coming to Islamabad with a fresh proposal in his briefcase.
The fact that speaker of Iranian parliament would not be part of the Iranian delegation which would represent Iran in the talks with Trump’s representatives if the talk takes place at all, means that the diplomatic level of the talks has been downgraded.

In the last talks US delegation was led by US Vice President JD Vance who is not coming to Islamabad this time.