The White House said Witkoff and Kushner would hold an “in-person conversation” with Iranian representatives in Islamabad, but Iranian state media reported that direct negotiations were not planned and that Pakistan would instead act as an intermediary.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who arrived in Islamabad on Friday, delivered Tehran’s negotiating demands and concerns over U.S. conditions to Pakistani officials, a Pakistani source involved in the discussions told Reuters.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said Araghchi’s visit focused on “ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability,” without explicitly confirming face-to-face engagement between Iranian and American officials.

Security across Islamabad was tightened sharply before the talks, with major roads sealed, military checkpoints reinforced, and troops deployed around the capital’s airport and heavily fortified Red Zone.Residents reported widespread disruption as police and soldiers controlled key intersections, helicopters circled overhead, and airport access routes were placed under heightened surveillance following the Iranian delegation’s arrival late Friday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the renewed talks followed an Iranian request for direct engagement after President Donald Trump urged Tehran to return to negotiations.“The Iranians reached out, as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation,” Leavitt said, adding that the talks would “hopefully move the ball forward toward a deal.”

Vice President JD Vance, who led a first round of negotiations in Islamabad earlier this month that ended without agreement, remained on standby to travel if required.Iranian state television, however, said Araghchi had no intention of meeting U.S. officials directly and that Islamabad would serve only as a channel for conveying Tehran’s proposals to Washington.

Iran’s military on Saturday warned it would respond if the United States continued what it described as a blockade of Iranian ports, calling the move “banditry” and “piracy.”In a statement carried by state broadcaster IRIB, Iran’s central military command Khatam Al-Anbiya said that if “the invading U.S. military continues blockading, banditry, and piracy in the region,” it would face retaliation from Iran’s armed forces.

“We are ready and determined, while monitoring the behavior and movements of enemies,” the statement said.Iran’s Defense Ministry separately said Washington was seeking a “face-saving” way to withdraw from the war.

“Our military power today is a dominant force, and the enemy is looking for a face-saving way to escape the war quagmire it has become trapped in,” ministry officials were quoted as saying by ISNA.Diplomatic efforts have stalled in recent weeks as Iran refused to rejoin formal negotiations while a U.S. naval blockade on its ports remained in place.

At the same time, Tehran has imposed a de facto restriction on the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only limited shipping through the strategic waterway that handles roughly one-fifth of global oil trade.The disruption has unsettled energy markets and raised concerns over broader supply chain instability.

Oil prices fell on Friday as hopes grew that the Islamabad talks could lead to de-escalation.European Council President Antonio Costa said the immediate reopening of the strait was essential.“The strait must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling,” Costa said.

“This is vital for the entire world.”Major Wall Street indexes closed at record highs on Friday as investors responded positively to corporate earnings and expectations of diplomatic progress.Meanwhile, Washington expanded its military presence in the region with the deployment of its third aircraft carrier, the USS George H.W. Bush, to the Middle East.

Araghchi is expected to travel next to Oman and Russia for further consultations on ending the conflict launched on Feb. 28 between Iran, Israel, and the United States.

The Islamabad talks are being closely watched as a potential turning point for whether the current ceasefire evolves into a broader settlement or gives way to renewed confrontation across the region.

In a post on X, Qalibaf accused Donald Trump of attempting to turn diplomacy into a “table of surrender,” adding that Tehran was instead preparing “to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”His remarks come as a two-week ceasefire in a conflict that has killed thousands and disrupted global markets, particularly energy supplies, is set to lapse later this week.

The truce has come under strain following a U.S. move to seize an Iranian cargo vessel accused of violating a maritime blockade, prompting Tehran to warn of retaliation.

Iran has consistently rejected negotiations conducted under coercion, while Washington has maintained pressure through military and economic measures as part of its broader strategy toward Tehran.

Wang, on a two-day visit to North Korea, said Beijing and Pyongyang should enhance communication “in the face of a turbulent and complex international situation,” according to a statement from China’s foreign ministry.

The visit marks a renewed push to strengthen bilateral relations following a period of limited exchanges during the COVID-19 pandemic, and comes as North Korea has also expanded engagement with Russia.

North Korean state media said Kim emphasized the importance of intensifying exchanges at multiple levels, describing closer ties as essential for safeguarding shared interests.

The report confirmed the meeting and highlighted mutual commitments to expand cooperation.Wang also held talks with his North Korean counterpart, pledging to build on what he described as positive momentum in relations and to advance practical cooperation between the two countries.

The diplomatic engagement comes ahead of a planned visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to China next month.

Trump has previously indicated interest in resuming dialogue with Kim, raising the prospect of renewed diplomatic activity on the Korean Peninsula.

With Biden, the threats to use the military to end the Iranian nuclear crisis have vanished. Sanctions are being removed, albeit slowly.

Over the past few days, the nuclear talks between Iran and the US have seen many ups and downs. They were about to collapse, with Iran taking a harder line and the US refusing to shift to non-diplomatic means to curb the Iranian nuclear danger. The talks seem to be an uphill mission. Three years ago, the landscape was completely different. There were hawks in the US, ‘doves’ in Iran–with the US administration pulling the strings and controlling the scene. Now, there’s neither the US hawks, nor Iran doves, nor the framework on which the two sides could reach a compromise.

Since Ebrahim Raisi, a conservative cleric who came to the presidency following an engineered election, took office, the Iranian position has been hardening. European and U.S. officials accused Iran of making sweeping new demands and of reneging on compromises worked out earlier this year.

Raisi, under personal U.S. sanctions over allegations of human rights abuses in his past as a judge, said Iran seeks the “lifting of all U.S. sanctions and neutralization of sanctions”. He was also quoted by the state-run television as saying that ‘the negotiations we are considering are result-oriented ones. We will not leave the negotiating table … but we will not retreat from the interests of our nation in any way.’

But it’s not without reason. The Democratic US administration led by Joe Biden isn’t willing to pursue harsh approach to address the Iranian nuclear talks. It sees that the diplomatic engagement is more fruitful and less costly. Since he took office earlier in 2021, Biden has been working to reverse the course of action and measures taken by Trump during his four-year presidency. Trump was so tough on Iran, starting from the electoral campaigning. He promised to tear up the nuke deal, labeling it ‘the worst deal ever’ and accusing it of being ‘too generous’. He ordered the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the engineer of Iran’s military operations overseas, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iran-aligned militia commander.

Trump’s measures toward Iran and the latter’s reaction to them offer an explanation of why the current situation is nearing deadlock, with Iran having an edge. When Trump killed Soleimani, Iran made strong condemnations, launched threats and ramped up rhetorical escalation.  But on the ground, it bombed two US bases in Iraq, with not a single US trooper being injured. That’s surely because Iran was well-aware of the consequences that it could face in case Trump saw that the Iranian action was so harsh it deserves revenge.

With Biden, the threats to use the military to end the Iranian nuclear crisis have vanished. Sanctions are being removed, albeit slowly. Negotiations are being given precedence to the military and other non-diplomatic options. There are calls upon—and appeals to—Iran to return to talks and sit down at the negotiation table.

Yet, there’s a desire among the Iranian rulers and foreign policy framers to maintain JCPOA in its current version, of which Trump pulled out the US. The deal’s terms seemed favorable for Iran. Billions of dollars have been unfrozen and sent to the country shortly after concluding the deal. More importantly, the deal had left unaddressed the issues that make the current nuclear talks stumble. It didn’t include any provisions about Iran’s missiles program or the Iranian expansionist schemes throughout the region—two issues the West wants to settle during the ongoing talks to cut an unblemished deal.

As a result of the Iranian stubbornness, the US and Israel ramped up rhetoric against the clerical regime and hinting at using military option to thwart Iran’s attempts to possess a bomb. The Israeli government said Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke by phone with Blinken on Thursday and accused Tehran of using its Fordo advances as “nuclear blackmail” in the JCPOA talks. It said Bennett urged the United States and other world powers to respond by stopping the negotiations immediately.

Blinken made his comment about determining the Iranian negotiators’ seriousness in “the next day or two” as he responded to a reporter asking what he thought of Bennett’s appeal. “We will not accept the status quo of Iran building its [nuclear] program on the one hand and dragging its feet in talks on the other. That’s not going to last,” Blinken added.

It was the first time that Blinken or any other Biden administration official has publicly stated such a timeframe for assessing Iran’s negotiating position, after months of declining to do so while also saying that time was running short.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki yet said ‘Given the ongoing advances in Iran’s nuclear program, the president has asked his team to be prepared in the event that diplomacy fails and we must turn to other options.’

The Biden administration has switched from the soft rhetoric and calls on Iran to pursue diplomacy to the harsh one and threats to give up on diplomacy and reverse the current course of action. But Biden’s steps didn’t go beyond rhetoric.

It seems the Biden administration is so fearful of resorting to the military option—a thing Trump never feared.

“If diplomacy cannot get on track soon and if Iran’s nuclear program continues to accelerate, then we will have no choice but to take additional measures to further restrict Iran’s revenue-producing sectors,” Paski said. The comment shows how the Biden administration sees the best way to curb Iran. It’s a half-hearted approach that never proved to be working.

The reasons why the talks are progressing slowly are clear. There’s no Trump who could deter Iran, there’s no framework or common ground on which the two sides could build a viable compromise. The Biden administration insists on remaining benign, soft and tender when it comes to Iran, which Iran exploits the most. He continues to do so while knowing that a single military strike outside Iran’s borders that targeted a single commander had thrown Iran into confusion and dismay. Its ‘powerful’ IRGC even mistakenly shot down a civilian airliner, killing all passengers on board. Iran isn’t powerful. But Biden isn’t Trump, and Iran is fully aware of this.

Mostapha Hassan Abdelwahab is Egyptian journalist and political analyst. He focuses on the Iranian and Iraqi affairs as well as political Islam groups. He has works published in Vocal Europe, The Greater Middle East and elsewhere.