PAKISTAN READIES FOR POTENTIAL US-IRAN PEACE TALKS – U.S. expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would go ahead
Pakistan stepped up security measures in Islamabad’s high-security Red Zone on Tuesday as the South Asian nation prepares to host U.S. and Iranian delegates for a possible second round of peace talks.
Armed rangers and police took up positions at checkpoints on roads leading to the Serena Hotel — the same venue where the first round of talks ended without a deal on April 12 — frisking passengers and stopping vehicles in and out of the restricted area.
The United States expressed confidence that peace talks with Iran would go ahead in Pakistan and a senior Iranian official said Tehran was considering joining, but significant hurdles and uncertainty remained as the end of a ceasefire approached.
U.S. President Donald Trump wants an agreement that would prevent further oil price rises and stock markets shocks but has insisted Iran cannot have the means to develop a nuclear weapon. Tehran hopes to leverage its control of the Strait of Hormuz to strike a deal that averts a restart of the war, eases sanctions but does not impede its nuclear program.
