Islamabad: Diplomatic efforts to arrange negotiations between the United States and Iran are continuing following Washington's decision to extend the ceasefire.
Just hours before the truce was due to expire, President Donald Trump announced an extension until Tehran presents a proposal to end the war. However, he also said he had issued directives for the military to maintain the US blockade on Iranian ports. The White House said Vice President JD Vance would not travel to Pakistan for what was intended to be a second round of peace talks, adding that any updates on negotiations would be announced by the White House.
Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will travel to Pakistan soon for talks with Iran's foreign minister, a US official said on Friday.
No date has yet been set for a second round of direct US-Iran talks in Islamabad, but Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in the Pakistani capital on Friday, an official source in Pakistan said, without providing details about who he was likely to meet.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the US decision to extend the ceasefire to allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to continue. Iran has not yet announced whether it will take part in the talks. Pakistan continues its intensive mediation efforts to bring the United States and Iran together in Islamabad.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar urged both sides to "consider extending the ceasefire and give dialogue and diplomacy a chance", according to a foreign ministry statement. On Lebanon, the United States said it would host a new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday aimed at moving towards an agreement.
Oil prices fell on Friday after it appeared a second round of Middle East talks was back on, bolstering prospects for an end to a war that has crippled energy shipments from the Gulf.
Equities traded mixed, however, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite set a fresh record high in New York thanks to a surge in stocks of chip manufacturing firms like Intel, which saw its shares rocket 25 per cent higher after it smashed quarterly earnings expectations.
Oil prices had been climbing earlier in the day as investors worried about a lack of progress in ending the Middle East crisis, with Tehran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the US maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports.
But they dropped on reports Araghchi was to arrive in Islamabad on Friday.
Brent crude, the international benchmark contract, fell back below $100 a barrel. — Agencies
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