(Image source from: AP)
US President Donald Trump accused Iran of breaking the ceasefire "many times," raising tensions as the deadline for new peace talks between Washington and Tehran is nearing on Wednesday, with no obvious progress being made. In a message on his social media site Truth Social, Trump claimed that Iran had repeatedly violated the temporary halt to fighting that had lasted for weeks in West Asia. His comments came at a critical time, with the ceasefire about to end and no official word on the continuation of further negotiations. Despite the doubt, the United States has remained optimistic that discussions with Iran will move forward in Pakistan. A high-ranking Iranian official has also suggested that Tehran is thinking about joining in, though nothing has been confirmed yet. A Pakistani source involved in the diplomatic talks informed Reuters that there was increasing hope for discussions to start again on Wednesday in Islamabad, with US Vice President JD Vance likely to head the American team. The same source mentioned that Trump might participate either physically or online if an agreement is ready to be finalized.
The initial round of discussions took place around 10 days ago and completed without any agreement. Since then, Tehran has been dismissing the idea of a second meeting this week after the United States did not lift its blockade of Iranian ports and took an Iranian cargo ship. An Iranian official stated that Tehran was "positively reviewing" the possibility of participation but emphasized that several conditions still needed to be met, including acknowledging Iran’s right to enrich uranium. Iran's mistrust of Washington is significant, especially since the US has carried out military actions while negotiations were ongoing twice over the past year. Trump mentioned that Iran was "going to negotiate" and expressed hope for a fair deal that would help the nation to recover. At the same time, he has kept a strict stance that Iran should not have the ability to create a nuclear weapon. Washington is aiming for Tehran to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be further processed for military purposes. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that a deal was near, attributing it to recent military pressure and Trump's negotiation style. She also cautioned that the US President still has "many options available" if diplomacy does not succeed.
