Next round of US-Iran talks set to take place in Pakistan on April 20: Report

Tehran: The next round of ongoing diplomatic talks between the US and Iran is expected  to take place in Islamabad on Monday, according to the Iranian officials familiar with the discussions. According to reports, delegations from both countries are likely to arrive in Pakistan on Sunday. 

However, the US has not yet officially confirmed this meeting.

Where will the talks happen?

Amid the renewed diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in West Asia, the development comes as a major relief.

The next round of talks between Iranian and US negotiators is expected to take place in Islamabad on Monday, according to Iranian officials familiar with the discussions, CNN reported.

The US and Iranian delegations will arrive in Pakistan over the weekend after which the negotiations will start from Monday.

The US and Iranian delegations may arrive in Pakistan in the weekend, and formal talks are expected to begin in Islamabad on Monday. However, neither the US nor Iran has officially confirmed this meeting.

Does the disagreements still persist?

While hopes are being raised for the next phase of talks, differences between the two sides remain. US President Trump said on Friday that the US and Iran are close to an agreement. He also indicated that the talks are moving in a positive direction. Conversely, a senior Iranian official has questioned some of Trump's claims. The official said that Tehran's talk of any major concessions is exaggerated. Iran remains cautious and appears unwilling to compromise its strategic interests.

"We're going to get it by going in with Iran, with lots of excavators. We need the biggest excavators you can imagine. But we're going in together with Iran, we're going to get it, and we're going to take it back home to the USA," Trump said at the Turning Point USA event in Phoenix, Arizona. 

What is Iran's tough stance on the Strait of Hormuz?

Amid rising tensions in the Middle East, Iran has tightened its control over the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has clarified that all ships transiting the Strait will only be allowed to travel on designated routes and with Iranian permission.

What is Iran's scathing attack on US?

Ghalibaf strongly criticized Trump's recent statements on X, saying that the US president had made seven false claims in one hour. He also said that the US has neither won the war nor achieved any concrete results in the negotiations. Iran has warned that if the US continues its maritime blockade of Iranian ports, Tehran will retaliate. According to Ghalibaf, whether the Strait is open or closed will be determined by ground conditions, not by political statements or social media.