Iran dismisses Islamabad‑talks report
Iran has firmly denied media claims that its negotiating team has arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan, for talks with the United States, calling the reports “completely false.” The denial was relayed by the Tasnim News Agency, citing an informed Tehran source who said neither Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi nor Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has left the country, and both remain in their capital duties.
Why the confusion arose
Reports surfaced after Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, initially posted on X that an Iranian delegation was heading to Islamabad for “serious talks” based on Iran’s 10‑point peace proposal, but later deleted the post. The U.S. had also announced that Vice President J.D. Vance would lead a team to Islamabad for a new phase of talks, fuelling expectations that both sides would sit down in the Pakistani capital. Iran’s official line now contradicts this narrative, stating that no such delegation has travelled.
Condition for any future talks
Iran’s sources stress that negotiations remain suspended as long as the U.S. and Israel fail to uphold a ceasefire in Lebanon, where intensive Israeli strikes continue under the broader Iran–Israel–U.S. war. Tehran has said it has no plans to attend peace talks with the American side “until a ceasefire is established in Lebanon,” framing the current diplomatic flurry around Islamabad as premature and disconnected from ground realities.
Diplomatic fallout and perceptions
The back‑and‑forth has created a credibility tangle: Iran accuses certain media outlets of spreading “baseless” stories to sow confusion and weaken Tehran’s position, while Pakistan’s role as a prospective mediator is being scrutinised, with some reports describing a “diplomatic blow” to Islamabad if the talks do not materialise. For now, the door to face‑to‑face talks appears locked behind Iran’s Lebanon‑ceasefire demand, even as Washington and its allies keep insisting that the negotiations framework is still in play.
