Iranians look at portraits of victims reportedly killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on the residential building near which they are displayed, in Tehran on April 13, 2026.(AFP)
Pakistan was working to bring Iran and the United States back together for a second round of talks and to secure an extended ceasefire to allow for diplomacy, a senior Pakistani source said on April 14.
"Efforts are underway to bring both parties back to the table, of course we want them back in Islamabad, but the venue is not final yet," said the source.
"The written outlines of demands and concessions have already been shared, so both parties are aware of the potential trade-offs," the official added.
The source added, "We are also working to get the ceasefire extended beyond the current deadline to allow for additional time."
The Reuters reported that the sides might return to the negotiation table in Islamabad this week, citing sources.
Washington and Tehran held historic face-to-face talks in Islamabad over the weekend, but failed to reach an immediate agreement on ending the war in the Middle East.
On April 13, U.S. Vice President JD Vance said Washington had made its "red lines" clear and that "the ball is in the Iranian court."
Vance had left talks hosted by Pakistan on April 12, saying he had handed Tehran the "final and best offer.”
Iran has blamed Washington for making maximalist demands, but its leaders have in the last hours not dismissed efforts by world leaders to get both sides back to the negotiating table.
U.S. President Donald Trump insisted Iranian representatives had called Washington since a U.S. delegation returned empty-handed from negotiations in Islamabad.
Trump has insisted that an agreement must include stopping Iran from ever getting its hands on a nuclear weapon, having launched the war under the pretext that Tehran was developing an atomic bomb, which it denies.
During weekend talks, the United States reportedly sought a 20-year suspension of Iran's uranium enrichment program, according to media reports on April 13.
Iran in turn proposed to suspend its nuclear activity for five years, which U.S. officials rejected, according to The New York Times.
The push for new talks came as a U.S. naval blockade began around Iranian ports, an action announced by Trump on Sunday and slammed by Iran as a "grave violation of its sovereignty.”
Iran had already closed the Strait of Hormuz to what it regards as enemy shipping, allowing only vessels serving countries it deems friendly, such as China, to cross.
With his blockade of Iranian ports, the U.S. president was trying to starve Iran of funds but also pressure Beijing, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, to lean on Tehran to reopen Hormuz, according to analysts.
In a social media post, Trump said the bulk of Iran's navy had already been destroyed during the war, but that if any of what he said were Tehran's few remaining "fast attack ships" approach the blockade "they will be immediately ELIMINATED."
