ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday Tehran had confirmed it would take part in negotiations linked to the newly announced US-Iran ceasefire, while a government spokesperson said the talks would be held in Islamabad on April 10.
The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, potentially suspending a six-week-old war that has killed thousands, spread across the Middle East and caused unprecedented disruption to the world’s energy supplies.
Trump announced the agreement late on Tuesday, just two hours before a deadline he had set for Iran to open the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its “whole civilization.”
Sharif said he had invited Iranian and US delegations to meet in Islamabad on Friday. The deal is subject to Iran’s agreement to pause its blockade of oil and gas passing through the strait, Trump said.
On Wednesday, Sharif said he had held a telephone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who had appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to help bring about the temporary ceasefire.
“President Pezeshkian ... confirmed that Iran would be participating in the negotiations in Islamabad,” the statement from Sharif’s office said.
Earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the negotiations would begin in Islamabad on April 10.
Tarar did not provide details on the format of the proposed talks or participants from the US or Iranian side. The two nations have also not disclosed any details of the planned negotiations.
“At this stage, I would not like to comment further, as this is a sensitive topic and the next 48 hours are extremely important,” Tarar said.
He said Pakistan’s leadership, including Sharif, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, had worked in a coordinated manner during the crisis, adding that the government would continue to play what he described as a constructive and responsible role as events developed.
The Strair of Hormuz waterway typically handles about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. News of the deal, and the prospect that the worst disruption to global energy markets in history could finally come to a close, caused a sharp fall in oil prices and a surge in share markets around the world.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said in a statement Tehran would cease counter-attacks and provide safe passage through the waterway — if attacks against it stopped.
The ceasefire suspends the war launched on February 28 by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had said at the time that they sought to prevent Iran from projecting force beyond its borders, end its nuclear program and create conditions for Iranians to topple their rulers.
Trump told the French news agency AFP that the ceasefire represented a “total and complete victory” and said on Truth Social that the US had achieved its military objectives.
With additional inputs from Reuters
