Iranian and US negotiators are set to arrive in Pakistan for a second round of talks as a shaky ceasefire is due to expire.
According to sources cited by both US and Iranian media, the delegations are due to arrive simultaneously in Islamabad on Tuesday evening. Vice President J.D. Vance will reportedly lead the US side, joined by President Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while Iran’s team will be headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
A two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan earlier this month is set to expire on Wednesday, after a first round of talks in Islamabad produced no breakthrough and Trump moved ahead with a US military blockade of Iranian ports – a step Tehran has labeled a violation of the truce.
On Monday, Trump resumed his trademark saber-rattling, telling PBS that “lots of bombs [will] start going off” if no deal is reached and making clear he has no intention of extending the ceasefire. He also insisted the blockade will remain in place until Tehran folds.
Iran has struck a defiant tone. Ghalibaf warned Tehran is ready to “reveal new cards on the battlefield,” rejecting any negotiations conducted “under the shadow of threats.” He accused Trump of trying to turn talks into “a table of surrender,” adding Iran has spent the past two weeks preparing new military options. President Masoud Pezeshkian echoed the message, calling US conduct “non-constructive and contradictory” and insisting Iranians “will not bow to coercion.”
Despite the rhetoric, Axios reported that Pakistani, Egyptian, and Turkish mediators pushed Tehran to attend, with Iran’s team reportedly receiving a green light from the supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, late on Monday.
Here are the latest developments:
- Tensions escalated further after the US Navy seized an Iranian cargo ship, the Touska, for allegedly breaching the blockade – a move Tehran branded “armed maritime piracy” and threatened to retaliate over.
- Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster said none of its negotiators had yet departed for Islamabad.
- Talks between Israel and Lebanon are reportedly set for Thursday to discuss extending their ceasefire, due to expire on Sunday.
- The Middle East conflict has triggered what IEA chief Fatih Birol called “the biggest” energy crisis in history.
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21 April 2026
Iran’s football team is still preparing for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to take place in the US, but will participate only if its safety is ensured, the country’s Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali has said.
“We must be prepared,” the minister stressed, noting that it is still possible that the team may not travel to the event. He added that the final decision on participation will be made by the Iranian government and the country’s Supreme National Security Council based on the evolving security and political conditions.
Last month, Iran was in talks about relocating its matches to Mexico but its request appears to have been denied, as it is still scheduled to play all of its matches on US soil.
Russia’s ambassador to Tehran, Aleksey Dedov, has accused the US and Israel of committing war crimes after visiting a hospital in the Iranian capital damaged in recent strikes.
Speaking to RT during a tour of affected areas with other foreign diplomats, Dedov described the destruction as “a horrible thing to see,” calling it “evidence of an inhumane approach” and “very clearly a war crime.”
According to RT correspondent Saman Kojouri, the hospital was hit without warning while patients and staff were inside, though the number of casualties remains unclear.
Iran’s armed forces are ready to deliver an “immediate and decisive response” to any renewed attacks, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters commander Ali Abdollahi has said, as cited by Tasnim.
He claimed Tehran holds the military upper hand, including over the Strait of Hormuz, and would not allow Trump to “create false narratives.” Iran briefly reopened the strait on Friday but shut it again to “hostile” countries a day after the US refused to lift its counter-blockade.
Iran will not engage in talks while the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz remains in place, Tehran’s envoy to Beijing, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, has told RT, accusing Washington of undermining negotiations with threats and pressure.
“What they are showing is actually the closure of the Hormuz Strait… and they are threatening Iran militarily,” he said, adding the US approach is “affecting the atmosphere of the talks” and signals it seeks “not dialogue, but surrender.”
Fazli stressed Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and compliant with IAEA rules, while calling uranium enrichment a “red line,” and accused Washington of previously breaking promises when talks were progressing.
Trump’s recent attacks on Pope Leo XIV – which escalated in April after the pontiff criticized the Iran war and called for peace – also appear to have landed poorly with the public.
The poll indicates Americans hold a far more favorable view of the pope than the president, with 60% rating Leo positively compared to just 36% for Trump. The pontiff also outpolls prominent Democrats, including Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Trump’s approval rating remains at a low 36%, with many Americans questioning his temperament amid the Iran war.
The six-day survey found support for US strikes on Iran at 36%, while only 26% of respondents described Trump as “even-tempered,” and 51% said his mental sharpness had worsened over the past year.
US insistence on maintaining the blockade of Iranian ports is “self-sabotaging the diplomacy,” Trita Parsi, co-founder of the Washington-based Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, has told RT.
“Trump is addicted to the optics of winning rather than actually making sure that the deal is secure. When the Iranians have shown some restraint or taken some de-escalatory steps, he’s declared victory and humiliated the Iranians,” he said, adding that “coercive measures” such as the blockade “will only backfire” and jeopardize the negotiation process.
Parsi described the war with Iran as a “disaster” for the US driven largely by Israeli interests, arguing it has weakened Trump. He added that Washington is “not even winning,” calling the conflict a major miscalculation that undermines global trust in the US.
Trump says he expects US strikes on Iran to continue if no deal is reached by Wednesday evening to extend the ceasefire, signaling little appetite for de-escalation.
“I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” he told CNBC, adding that the military is “raring to go” as he touted his efforts to rebuild US forces.
At least 26 Iranian “shadow fleet” vessels have reportedly bypassed the US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Lloyd’s List.
Since the blockade took effect on April 13, maritime data shows dozens of ships have continued moving in and out of Iranian ports, exporting Iranian-origin cargo. Lloyd’s List said at least 11 loaded tankers have left the Gulf of Oman or the wider region during that period.
J.D. Vance is set to depart Joint Base Andrews near Washington, DC later today to take part in talks in Pakistan, ABC reports, citing White House sources.
Dozens of veterans and military family members protesting the war on Iran were arrested on Monday after occupying the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC. The demonstration was organized by several veteran groups, including About Face, Veterans For Peace, and the Center on Conscience and War (CCW).
Protesters gathered in the rotunda and held red tulips to honor Iranians killed in US strikes, and unfurled banners reading “End the War on Iran.” They also performed a flag-folding ceremony for the 13 US troops killed so far, before being zip-tied and led away by police.
Among those arrested was Iraq War veteran and CCW Executive Director Mike Prysner, who called the conflict “a crisis for the Trump administration.” Prysner urged current service members to refuse participation, saying they have the chance he wishes he’d taken.
The US Department of War claims its forces have boarded another vessel believed to be part of Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’, in the latest interdiction far from the Middle East.
The tanker M/T Tifani was seized overnight in the Indo-Pacific, with Washington vowing to keep targeting these ships globally.
“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran – anywhere they operate. International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned vessels,” the Pentagon said in a post on X.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) has said a special Il-76 plane delivered 27 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Lebanon, as the country grapples with the fallout from the Middle East conflict and Israeli attacks.
The supplies include mobile generators, food, tents, blankets, and mattresses.
Scam messages offering “safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for cryptocurrency are being sent to shipping companies with vessels stuck in the area, Greek maritime risk company MARISKS has warned, according to Reuters.
The company said unknown actors posing as the Iranian authorities demanded payments in Bitcoin or Tether for clearance, stressing that the messages are a scam and not linked to Tehran.
Hundreds of ships and around 20,000 seafarers remain stranded in the Gulf. MARISKS said at least one vessel that attempted to exit the strait and came under fire may have been misled by the scheme.
Trump has claimed that Iran has violated the ceasefire “numerous times” in a Truth Social post. The assertion appeared to come out of the blue, adding fresh uncertainty as talks were expected to resume in Pakistan.
Russia is closely watching developments around the planned US-Iran talks in Islamabad, but believes it is too early to draw conclusions, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, noting the situation is “changing very fast.”
“I would say we are taking an analytical stance… we will be analyzing what’s happening,” he said, adding that “over the course of one day, the situation can turn 180 degrees… or it may not.”
Lavrov stressed it is “difficult to say how much confidence every party has” in a potential resolution, pointing to “threats and promises” from Washington. He noted that an agreement had already addressed concerns over Iran’s nuclear program before the US withdrew from it, despite now insisting it wants to prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Spain will urge the EU to reconsider its association agreement with Israel, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced, arguing that “a government that violates international law cannot be a partner of the EU.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, speaking ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, confirmed that Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia have formally requested a review of the agreement. The move is based on the treaty’s “human rights clause,” with the three countries arguing that Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon breach the standards required to maintain the deal.
Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot echoed the concerns, calling Israel’s actions “unacceptable” and urging at least a partial suspension.
Gulf countries are in daily contact with various parties involved in the Middle East crisis, according to Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari.
“The crisis is ours, and the crisis of our region. That’s why we have direct contacts,” he told a press briefing, adding that Doha is betting on the upcoming US-Iran talks to yield results. “We do not want to talk about the failure of the negotiations… the entire world is supporting these negotiations, including us. And we are supporting our brothers in Pakistan.”
US Central Command has published footage showing Marines boarding the Iranian cargo vessel M/V Touska after it was disabled by the USS Spruance in the Gulf of Oman.
CENTCOM claimed that since the start of the blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports, US forces have turned back or redirected 27 vessels.
Iran Air will resume domestic flights on Wednesday, ending a 50-day suspension caused by the war, Tasnim news agency reports. The first route to reopen will be Tehran-Mashhad, with return flights scheduled the same day.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has signaled skepticism toward Washington, citing “mistrust” and “contradictory signals from American officials,” as efforts continue to launch a second round of talks.
“Honoring commitments is the basis of meaningful dialogue,” he wrote on X, adding that longstanding distrust of US conduct persists and that Washington’s recent rhetoric sends “a bitter message.” He added that the US wants Iran to surrender, insisting that “Iranians do not submit to force.”
Iranian MP Mohammad Reza Mohseni Sani, a member of the parliament’s National Security Commission, has cast doubt on the planned talks, saying they are not acceptable in the “current situation.”
Speaking to Mehr news agency, he accused the US of being “overly demanding” and pursuing talks for domestic political gain, adding that “given the current conditions, recent aggressions, and the history” of past negotiations, the next round is likely “off the table.”
The US has expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran will go ahead in Pakistan, with a source telling Reuters that negotiations are “on track for tomorrow” and could even see Trump join in person or virtually if a deal is signed.
US Vice President J.D. Vance is expected to travel to Pakistan for the talks later on Tuesday, according to Axios. The Wall Street Journal reports that Iran is “positively reviewing” participation but has yet to make a final decision.
MP Ali Khodrian, member of Iran’s National Security Commission, has claimed associates of Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have indicated he does not intend to take part in talks with the US in Islamabad.
Khodrian added that Tehran believes negotiations without a clear agenda bring no results and are instead being used by Washington as “a tool for managing energy markets.”
The global energy crunch sparked by the US-Israeli war on Iran is the worst on record, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) chief Fatih Birol. He told France Inter radio the disruption goes beyond past crises due to its scale and overlap.
“The crisis is already huge, if you combine the effects of the petrol crisis and the gas crisis with Russia. This is indeed the biggest crisis in history,” he stated.
The US-Israeli bombing campaign prompted Iran to restrict passage through the Strait of Hormuz – a route for about 20% of global oil, disrupting supply chains and driving prices higher. Markets briefly stabilized earlier this month on hopes the waterway would reopen during talks in Islamabad, but prices rebounded after negotiations collapsed.
Details of any potential deal between the US and Iran remain vague, with Tehran’s nuclear program still the main sticking point.
Trump is demanding Tehran dismantle its infrastructure and hand over enriched uranium – proposals Iran has dismissed as “non-starters.” Pezeshkian said on Sunday that Trump has no justification to “deprive Iran of its nuclear rights.”
Trump has also demanded the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while Tehran insists on maintaining control over the critical shipping route.
Preparations for the US-Iran talks have been underway for days in Pakistan. According to media reports, parts of Islamabad are under lockdown, with tens of thousands of security personnel deployed. Pakistani security sources earlier told Al Jazeera the talks are expected before Friday, citing the arrival of two US C-17 aircraft and major hotels being cleared of guests.