Pakistan to host next round of US-Iran talks, sanctions & nuclear programme to top agenda

Pakistan will soon host the next round of US-Iran talks, a senior diplomatic source has told CNN-News18.

The source said that sanctions and Iran’s nuclear programme will top the agenda. They added that the talks will be held in Islamabad.

The development comes after Iranian and American officials met in Doha last week. Their discussions were described as positive and were said to have centred on the resumption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and financial incentives for Iran to end the war.

After Pakistan first mediated the temporary ceasefire in April and then the interim agreement between the United States and Iran, it is now working towards a final agreement to formally end the war. The deal is expected to be modelled on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last month.

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The next round in Islamabad will include technical-level meetings, meaning it is likely to be attended by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, rather than Vice President JD Vance.

Despite multiple rounds of exchanges of fire and Trump’s continued rhetoric, the United States and Iran have adhered to their MoU and have not resumed the war.

But the two sides are increasingly presenting sharply different positions in public. While Trump and his aides have said there will be no fee for transiting the Strait, Iran has consistently maintained that it has the right to charge a fee for passage through the waterway and that the MoU granted free transit for only 60 days.

Even before the 60-day period's completion, Iran has stated that transit through the Strait will not be unconditional. It has announced that all ships must use a designated route and that the use of any other route would result in the loss of the right to safe passage through the waterway. As per reports, Oman has also presented a plan to charge a voluntary fee for transiting the Strait.