"U.S. and Iran Set to Return to Negotiating Table Later This Week"

The U.S. and Iranian negotiating teams are expected to return to the negotiating table this week.

On the 14th (local time), Reuters reported, citing four local sources, that both delegations will meet for talks later this week in Islamabad, Pakistan.

If negotiations do resume, it would raise the possibility of face-to-face talks just days after the first ceasefire talks, which ended without results in Islamabad on the 12th.

An Iranian official told Reuters that while the exact date for the second round of negotiations has not yet been determined, the delegation has kept their schedules open between the 17th and 19th.

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A U.S. official also told AP that while the location, timing, and composition of the delegation have yet to be finalized, there is a possibility that the second round of talks could be held on the 16th.

A Pakistani source, who is mediating between the U.S. and Iran, said they are communicating with both sides regarding the timing of further negotiations and noted that the talks are likely to take place over the weekend.

In this regard, sources said Pakistan has proposed to both the U.S. and Iran that they send their delegations again in order to resume negotiations.

A senior Pakistani government official told Reuters, "We have reached out to Iran and received a positive response that they would be open to a second round of negotiations."

This development comes after U.S. President Donald Trump launched a counter-blockade on the 13th in response to Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, the U.S. Central Command began a maritime blockade against Iran centered on the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's crude oil and gas shipments pass, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on the 13th.

Both sides exchanged harsh words over the U.S. counter-blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Truth Social on the 13th that if any of Iran's "fast attack boats" came close to the blockade zone, "they will be eliminated immediately."

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued a statement directed at President Trump, declaring, "If you fight, we will fight as well."

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