\n<\/p>\n
Sources tell Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are hopeful about a breakthrough on Iran\u2019s nuclear programme.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n A high-level Pakistani delegation has travelled to Iran to hold talks focused on arranging a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, a week before their fragile truce is due to expire.<\/p>\n Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir is heading the delegation that arrived in Tehran on Wednesday evening, according to Iranian state media. It said he came with a new message from the US and plans to coordinate a second round of US-Iran talks, after an initial round in Islamabad ended on Sunday without a deal to end the war.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Pakistan\u2019s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi is also joining mediation efforts in Tehran, while Pakistan\u2019s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in Saudi Arabia for the first stop in a four-day Gulf tour.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic blitz comes as competing US and Iranian sea blockades strain tensions \u2013 and the global economy \u2013 but amid indications of progress towards a deal to end the war, which has killed 3,000 people in Iran and spiralled across the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cThe urgency is being driven by the ceasefire expiring on April 22, and Pakistani officials are hoping they can get that extended,\u201d said Al Jazeera\u2019s Kimberly Halkett from Islamabad. \u201cSharif will try and convince regional partners to also use their leverage to convince the US to participate in new talks with Iran and make sure there is no diplomatic line-crossing.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest mediation appears bolstered by optimistic comments from US President Donald Trump, who said the world should brace for an \u201camazing two days\u201d as the war with Iran is close to over.<\/p>\n Trump also said his negotiators were likely to return to Pakistan, thanks largely to the \u201cgreat job\u201d Munir was doing to moderate the talks.<\/p>\n White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later reiterated that additional talks with Iran would likely go forward in Islamabad. \u201cWe feel good about the prospects of a deal,\u201d she told reporters on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, the US military said its naval blockade on all Iranian ports was still in effect, with US forces \u201cpresent, vigilant and ready to ensure compliance\u201d.<\/p>\n The blockade, which Iran\u2019s military slammed as a violation of the ceasefire, turned nine ships away as of Wednesday, according to US Central Command.<\/p>\n The commander of Iran\u2019s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the US did not lift its blockade. He also warned Iran would retaliate by blocking trade through the Red Sea along with the Gulf and Sea of Oman.<\/p>\n Mediators in the conflict are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points \u2013 Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, control of the Strait of Hormuz, and compensation for wartime damages.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country \u201cbased on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment\u201d, according to Iranian state media.<\/p>\n Sources told Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are optimistic about a potential major breakthrough on the nuclear front, which is the reason for Munir\u2019s rare diplomatic trip.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like there is some agreement in the making, but we\u2019ve been cautioned by sources [close to the mediation effort] that there are detractors on all sides,\u201d said Al Jazeera\u2019s Osama Bin Javaid from Doha.<\/p>\n He said the detractors include elements \u201cin Tehran, in Washington, DC, and biggest of them all, according to Pakistani sources, is Israel, which does not want a peace deal and wants a perpetual war in the region\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sources tell Al Jazeera that Pakistani mediators are hopeful about a breakthrough on Iran\u2019s nuclear programme. A high-level Pakistani delegation has travelled to Iran to hold talks focused on arranging a fresh round of negotiations between Iran and the United States, a week before their fragile truce is due to expire. Pakistan Army Chief Asim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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