Pakistan Continues Prep for War Talks  04/21 06:15

   Pakistan pressed ahead Tuesday with the groundwork for a second round of 
talks between Iran and the United States in Islamabad as a fragile ceasefire 
hung in the balance, even though it remained unclear whether Tehran would send 
a delegation.

   ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistan pressed ahead Tuesday with the groundwork for a 
second round of talks between Iran and the United States in Islamabad as a 
fragile ceasefire hung in the balance, even though it remained unclear whether 
Tehran would send a delegation.

   Both sides remain dug in rhetorically, with U.S. President Donald Trump 
warning that "lots of bombs" will "start going off" if there's no agreement 
before the ceasefire deadline, which he put as Wednesday, and Iran's chief 
negotiator saying that Tehran has "new cards on the battlefield" that haven't 
yet been revealed.

   The two-week ceasefire began on April 8, and seemed likely to be extended if 
talks resume as planned. White House officials have said that U.S. Vice 
President JD Vance would lead the American delegation, but Iran hasn't said who 
it might send, and Iranian state television on Tuesday broadcast a message 
saying that "no delegation from Iran has visited Islamabad... so far."

   Iranian state TV long has been controlled by hard-liners within Iran's 
theocracy, and the on-screen alert likely reflects the ongoing internal debate 
within Iran's theocracy as it weighs how to respond to the U.S. Navy's seizure 
of an Iranian container ship over the weekend.

   Strait of Hormuz control key to negotiations

   The U.S. has instituted a blockade of Iranian ports to pressure Tehran into 
ending its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane through 
which 20% of the world's natural gas and crude oil transits in peacetime.

   Iran's iron grip on the strait has sent oil prices soaring, and Brent crude, 
the international standard, was trading at close to $95 per barrel on Tuesday, 
up more than 30% from Feb. 28, the day that Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran 
to start the war.

   Before the war began, the Strait of Hormuz had been fully open to 
international shipping, and Trump has demanded that vessels again be allowed to 
transit unimpeded through the waterway.

   European Union transportation ministers were meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 
to discuss how to protect consumers after the head of the International Energy 
Agency warned that Europe has " maybe six weeks " of jet fuel supplies 
remaining.

   Over the weekend, Iran said that it had received new proposals from 
Washington, but also suggested that a wide gap remains between the sides. 
Issues that derailed the last round of negotiations included Iran's nuclear 
enrichment program, its regional proxies and the strait.

   Iran's chief negotiator and parliamentary speaker, Mohammed Bagher Qalibaf, 
accused the United States on Tuesday of wanting Iran to surrender and said that 
on the contrary, Iran has been preparing "to reveal new cards on the 
battlefield."

   "We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats," Qalibaf wrote 
in an X post.

   Pakistan hopeful talks will proceed

   Despite the rhetorical skirmishing between the two sides, Pakistani 
officials have expressed confidence that Iran will also send a delegation late 
Tuesday so that the talks could resume.

   Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday spoke with his Egyptian 
counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, to discuss the latest regional developments, as 
part of diplomatic preparations before the planned talks, Pakistan's Foreign 
Ministry.

   Dar also met with the ambassador from China, which is a key trading partner 
with Iran, as the Foreign Ministry in Beijing said that the conflict was at a 
"critical stage of transition between war and peace."

   "At such a moment, it is all the more necessary for all parties to show the 
utmost sincerity, remain committed to a political solution, maintain the 
momentum of the ceasefire and negotiations," ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

   Security has been tightened across Pakistan's capital, where authorities 
have deployed thousands of personnel and increased patrols along routes leading 
to the airport.

   The arrangements appear stricter than those put in place during the first 
round of talks held in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, suggesting the possibility 
of high-level participation, if negotiations make progress, said Syed Mohammad 
Ali, an Islamabad-based security analyst.

   "Pakistan appears to be preparing for the possibility of visits by top U.S. 
and Iranian leaders if the talks advance to a stage where an agreement could be 
signed," he told The Associated Press.

   Historic Israel-Lebanon talks also set to resume

   Meanwhile, historic diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon were set to 
resume on Thursday in Washington, an Israeli, a Lebanese and a U.S. official 
said. All three spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the 
behind-the-scenes negotiations.

   The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors met last week for the first direct 
diplomatic talks in decades. Israel says the talks are aimed at disarming 
Hezbollah and reaching a peace agreement with Lebanon.

   A 10-day ceasefire began on Friday in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel 
and Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants broke out two days after the U.S. and 
Israel launched joint strikes on Iran to start the war. Fighting in Lebanon has 
killed more than 2,290 people.

   Since the war started, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, 
according to authorities. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more 
than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 
U.S. service members throughout the region have been killed.