BREAKING: Iran and US to Hold Second Round of Peace Talks in Islamabad
Islamabad issues an urgent invitation for "Round 2" of direct U.S.-Iran peace talks as soon as Thursday. Following a grueling 21-hour stalemate and a looming naval blockade, Pakistan is racing to keep the "Islamabad Process" alive before the fragile ceasefire collapses into renewed total war.
Pakistan is stepping up as mediator once again: officials in Islamabad have formally invited both Washington and Tehran back for Round 2 of direct peace talks and sources say the meetings could happen as early as this week, possibly as soon as Thursday.
The first round, held over the weekend in Islamabad, dragged on for a grueling 21 hours with zero breakthrough. Vice President JD Vance described it as the U.S.’s “final and best offer,” while Iranian officials complained the Americans were making “excessive demands.” The main roadblocks remain Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz, and the new U.S. naval blockade.
Both sides left the table with the door still open. Now, multiple diplomatic sources confirm negotiating teams from the U.S. and Iran are seriously considering Pakistan’s invitation to return before the fragile two-week ceasefire runs out.
Four sources told Reuters that the second round of peace talks will go ahead.
Pakistan is actively pushing to keep the “Islamabad process” alive, with Geneva mentioned only as a backup option. The urgency is real: the Hormuz blockade is already being tested by sanctioned tankers, and neither side wants the ceasefire to collapse into renewed conflict.
This would mark the second round of face-to-face talks since the brief but intense U.S.-Iran war flared up.