US, Iran mull second meeting in attempt to revive ceasefire talks

The US and Iran are in discussions about holding another round of face-to-face negotiations for a longer-term ceasefire, people familiar with the matter said, after talks in Islamabad led by Vice President JD Vance failed to produce a breakthrough.

The people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, said the goal is to hold fresh talks before a two-week ceasefire announced April 7 expires next week. One idea is to return to Islamabad for a second round, though other venues have also been discussed, they said.

The White House and the State Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. CNN reported Monday that White House officials were discussing the possibility of another meeting, and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said efforts are ongoing to resolve the outstanding issues between the US and Iran.

President Donald Trump signalled his own openness to more talks earlier Monday, saying Iran had reached out to the US. At the same time, he’s pressing ahead with a naval blockade of the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway as a way of ramping up pressure on the regime in Tehran.

“We’ve been called this morning by the right people, the appropriate people, and they want to work a deal,” Trump said at the White House, without elaborating on who participated in the conversation.

Officials from Turkey and Egypt also have played a role in diplomacy to end the war, raising the possibility that a meeting could take place in one of those two countries, according to another person familiar with the matter.

Vance returned empty-handed from Islamabad this weekend after a day of talks failed to produce a deal. He and Trump said the negotiations collapsed because Iran declined to give up its nuclear ambitions. Iran, which denies it wants to build a nuclear bomb but has said it has the right to enrich uranium, blamed the failure on what semi-official state media called “excessive” US demands.

But the Iranians also left the door open for more talks, with the foreign ministry saying differences wouldn’t be resolved in a single round. In what was also seen as a positive sign, Trump said in a social media post on Sunday that his envoys “became, not surprisingly, very friendly and respectful of Iran’s Representatives.”