It is assumed that this Monday the negotiating teams of the United States and Iran will arrive again in Pakistan to discuss the war, when on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday the two-week truce agreed between the archenemies ends. But it is only assumed: at this time, the Americans insist that they will be there but the Iranians say that they “have no plans to participate in a new round” and that they have not yet made a decision on whether to break the deck or hold on a little longer.
“At the moment, we have no plans for the next round of negotiations and no decision has been made in this regard,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bagaei said at a press conference this morning. “The United States, by adopting contradictory behavior and continuously violating the terms of the ceasefire, has shown that it is not serious about following the diplomatic process,” said the diplomat, according to the EFE Agency on the ground.
Bagaei affirmed that the naval blockade that the United States has imposed on Iranian ports and ships and the attack on a ship from the country “constitute a clear example of an act of aggression” against the Islamic Republic. All of this “intensifies distrust towards President Donald Trump, who in less than nine months attacked Iran twice while they were holding negotiations and killed senior officials and citizens, the spokesperson recalled. Once, on February 28; another, in June 2025.
The White House, for its part, announced the sending of a delegation to Pakistan, led by its vice president JD Vance, but also threatened new attacks if there is no progress, while Tehran conditioned contacts on the end of the US naval blockade on its ports.
Furthermore, President Trump warned that if Tehran does not accept the agreement proposed by Washington, it could destroy “each and every power plant and bridge” in Iran, a threat that the Republican had already posed before the parties agreed on April 8 to the two-week truce that, right now, means very little, given the bad feelings coming from the capitals.
Islamabad, ready
In Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, they continue to eagerly wait for the negotiators, despite everything. There is a total closure of offices and schools in its diplomatic zone, to accommodate this possible second round of contacts.
Although American advance teams landed on Sunday at the Nur Khan air base in the neighboring city of Rawalpindi, the Iranian embassy in Islamabad has not yet commented on the sending of its negotiators.
The Pakistani Minister of the Interior, Mohsin Naqvi, met today with the head of the US mission, Natalie Baker, to finalize a security device that keeps movement restricted in the “Red Zone”, an armored perimeter that concentrates the embassies, the main government headquarters and the official residences of the Pakistani leaders.
All private and government offices and educational centers in the area remain closed this Monday by administrative order.
Fever rises
The context in which these conversations arrive is complicated, because war fever has risen. The US attacked and captured an Iranian cargo ship in the last few hours (the Touska) in the Sea of Oman, which the Islamic Republic has described as a violation of the ceasefire with Washington and has escalated tensions. The Iranian Army has assured that it will respond to the capture of that ship “soon,” but no one knows if it will be with a severe blow that will lift the Americans off the table.
Several Iranian media reported this morning that Tehran had launched projectiles against North American bases in the Middle East, in retaliation, but there is no confirmation of this either by independent media or by the Republican Administration itself.
During the first round of negotiations on Saturday the 11th in Pakistan, Iran did not confirm its participation until the last minute, in a meeting in which after 21 hours of talks an agreement was not closed.
The world has breathed these days because the noise of weapons has ceased. The screams and threats of politicians continue, but it is not even close to the same. Furthermore, Iran’s demands that a peace agreement be included in Lebanon have had an effect and a truce of just ten days has been agreed with Israel, reluctantly from Tel Aviv.
However, time is running out and the chances of significant progress in the talks – if they happen at all – are slim at best. It’s realism, nothing more. The scant hopes that existed in Islamabad eight days ago have been further dispelled by these accusations of ceasefire violation, attacks on ships and blockade of ports. The theocratic regime speaks of “maritime piracy.”
These are by no means the conditions conducive to finding common ground and ending this conflict. Donald Trump’s objective is to put so much pressure on the already battered Iranian economy that Tehran capitulates to American demands, both on the nuclear issue and on the Strait of Hormuz.
Some analysts believe this could still work, but Iran rarely responds to this type of public pressure in the way some expect. If anything, it is hardening its stance and making noise about exercising its “sovereign right” to control the pace.
The truth is that, for now, maritime traffic remains practically paralyzed in the area. According to maritime data, there have only been three crossings in the last 12 hours.
The markets do not trust
European stock markets opened lower today as optimism regarding the possible rapid opening of the Strait of Hormuz and, consequently, an agreement between the US and Iran faded.
The price of Brent crude oil rose 5% to $95.29 per barrel as traders reacted to the latest news from the Gulf, reversing some of the declines recorded on Friday, when Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open” to commercial vessels for the remainder of the ceasefire.
The UK’s FTSE 100 stock index fell 0.6%, Germany’s Dax 1.6% and France’s Cac 40 1.3% on Monday morning. The main Spanish index, the IBEX 35, fell 1.22% at the opening this Monday, to 18,270.3 points. Profits for the year are reduced to 5.56%.
Brent, Europe’s benchmark crude oil, soared 5.62% to $95.46, after the US attacked and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship that tried to cross the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, causing Iran to refuse to participate in the peace negotiations scheduled for these coming days.
“Hopes of an imminent resumption of trade, especially energy shipments, have been dashed,” Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, told the BBC.
Russia’s offer
Furthermore, this Monday, the Kremlin said that it still aspires to participate in the negotiating table and once again offered its services to mediate in the war in Iran as it fears a new scenario of violence. “As has been repeatedly stated at various levels, we are ready to provide all necessary assistance to achieve a peaceful solution and an adequate agreement,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said in his daily telephone press conference.
Today Peskov described the situation in the east as “fragile and unpredictable”, but hopes that “the negotiation process will continue and that this will help avoid a new scenario of violence.” The spokesman added that otherwise “there could be much more negative consequences for regional security and the global economy.”
Russia is currently not at the negotiating table, but has declared several times its aspiration to participate in the peace process, as well as withdraw Iranian enriched uranium, one of the agreements considered between the US and Iran even before the start of the attacks against the Islamic republic at the end of February.
It is one of Tehran’s main partners, which, for example, has been supplying Shahed drones since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine, more than four years ago.
Good news in Qatar
Although no one knows how long it may last, at least today some good news has arrived from the Persian Gulf: Qatar has announced the gradual resumption of international airline flights to Doha for the first time since their cancellation due to the war. The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) noted in a statement on its website that “the gradual resumption” of foreign flights to Hamad International Airport “was decided after a thorough assessment of the situation and in coordination with all relevant authorities to ensure a high level of preparedness and efficiency.”
He also stated that “all flights and operations will comply with the highest international safety standards, implementing all necessary procedures and measures to protect passengers and personnel in the aeronautical sector,” since “the safety of everyone is their top priority.”
Qatar, which hosts one of the main US military bases in the Middle East, had closed its airspace after the start of the war by the US and Israel against Iran on February 28.
Qatari territory, like that of other Arab neighbors of the Islamic Republic, such as Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, was the target of intense attacks with Iranian drones and missiles from the beginning of the conflict and until the announcement of the two-week truce, which expires next Wednesday.
The QCAA had announced a partial resumption of flights by national airline Qatar Airways on March 15 for “limited” and “safe” destinations, and expanded its flights to up to 90 destinations in mid-April.
Qatar is one of the most important international destinations in the world. Hamad International Airport serves as a key global connection point between Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas and receives flights from around 45 international airlines. In 2025 it received more than 54 million passengers, according to its authorities.
