Despite sending mixed signals in recent days, both the United States and Iran gave clearer indications on Monday that they planned to send negotiators to peace talks in Pakistan this week.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to leave Washington for Islamabad on Tuesday, according to two U.S. officials, and two Iranian officials said that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the influential political and military figure who attended the last round of talks, would attend if Vance also did. The new round of talks had been in doubt as the countries traded threats over the weekend, and as their two-week ceasefire neared its expiration.
Both countries’ presidents have reiterated their hardened stances. President Donald Trump said Monday on social media that “if Iran’s new leaders (Regime Change!) are smart, Iran can have a great and prosperous future!” And Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran’s president, said that continuing the war “benefits no one,” but followed up with a post saying that there was “deep historical mistrust” looming over the upcoming talks.
The conflicting signals echoed those Iran sent before the first round of talks, which ended without an agreement to end the war. Iran had cast doubt on those negotiations even took place, only for its delegation to arrive hours later.
The two-week truce, which went into effect on April 8, is being tested in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas that Iran has sought to control, prompting the United States to blockade Iranian ports. A U.S. Navy destroyer fired on an Iranian cargo ship Sunday after it defied that blockade, Trump said, and ultimately, U.S. forces seized it. Iran’s armed forces called it “piracy,” warning that they would soon retaliate, according to Tasnim, a semiofficial Iranian news agency
Here’s what else we are covering:
— Pakistan: Pakistan was preparing to host new U.S.-Iran peace talks. Officials said they would deploy 10,000 extra security personnel in Islamabad, the capital.
— Lebanon: The U.S. State Department will host another round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, the department said. Israel wants the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group, and Lebanon wants a complete Israeli withdrawal from its south.
— Energy prices: The U.S. energy secretary, Chris Wright, acknowledged Sunday that gasoline prices in the United States could remain elevated for months. Oil prices are up by about 33% since the war began on Feb. 28.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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