Islamabad, April 25, 2026 — Plans for a second round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad appear to be unraveling after Tehran declined to meet the visiting American delegation, according to ARY News chairman Kamran Khan.
Khan posted on X that informed sources say uncertainty surrounds the weekend negotiations, which were due to resume in the Pakistani capital. He reported that Tehran has not agreed to receive the US team, which was expected to arrive late from Washington.
According to the same reporting, Iran has presented a firm precondition for reopening talks: the United States must first end what Tehran describes as a naval blockade of Iranian ports and the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route. Iranian officials have tied the resumption of dialogue to the lifting of those restrictions.
The US delegation set to travel to Pakistan is led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who was named by the White House as part of the renewed diplomatic push. Earlier in the week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Islamabad, raising expectations that talks might be revived.
Islamabad has prepared for the meetings with tight security. Authorities implemented road closures and a heavy cordon around the high-security Red Zone ahead of the expected arrival of US envoys.
Diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran have so far yielded limited progress. The previous round of discussions in Islamabad lasted about 21 hours and ended without a breakthrough; that session was led by US Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
With Tehran maintaining its precondition and the US delegation en route, sources say the immediate prospects for resuming talks are increasingly doubtful. Both sides have signaled interest in diplomacy, but differences over security measures in the Strait of Hormuz and other core issues continue to block an agreement to proceed.
The situation remains fluid; Pakistani officials, US envoys and Iranian representatives have not issued detailed public statements confirming the final status of the planned meetings.
