Vance has not yet left for Iran talks in Pakistan: Reuters

Reuters: United States Vice President JD Vance is ​still in the US and ‌has not yet departed for Pakistan, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as prospects ​for a second round of negotiations with Iran ​remain unclear.

US President Donald Trump has said ⁠he would send a US delegation to ​Pakistan for additional talks before a ceasefire is ​set to expire in the coming days. Iran is considering attending the peace talks, a senior Iranian ​official told Reuters on Monday, but ​no decision had been made.

A second source familiar with ‌the ⁠matter said the US delegation has not departed yet, but plans to travel to Islamabad soon.

The New York Post earlier reported that Trump ​said in ​an interview ⁠that Vance, White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner ​were on their way to the ​talks. ⁠The three participated in the first round of talks to end hostilities that began ⁠with ​US-Israeli attacks on Iran on ​February 28.

Meanwhile, Iran is considering attending peace talks with the US in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official told Reuters, following moves by Islamabad to end a US blockade of Iran’s ports, a major hurdle for Iran to rejoin peace efforts.

However, the official stressed that no decision had been made.

With a two-week ceasefire set to expire, a senior Iranian official said Tehran was “positively reviewing” its participation but no final decision had been made. The comments conveyed a clear change of tone from earlier statements ruling out attendance and pledging to retaliate for US aggression.

The Iranian official said mediator Pakistan was making positive efforts to end the US blockade and ensure Iran’s participation.

The ceasefire had appeared in jeopardy after the US said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Tehran vowed to retaliate.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Washington had shown it was “not serious” about pursuing the diplomatic process, and that Tehran would not change its demands.

The US was hoping to start negotiations in Pakistan shortly before the ceasefire expires, with sweeping security preparations under way in Islamabad, but Baghaei said the US was “insisting on some unreasonable and unrealistic positions”.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran’s “defensive capabilities”, including its missile programme, were not open to negotiation.

US-Iran ceasefire set to expire on Tuesday night

Trump announced the two-week ceasefire with Iran on April 7, and has not specified when precisely it ends.

A Pakistani source involved in the talks said it would expire at 8 pm EST on Tuesday, which would be midnight GMT or 3:30 am Wednesday in Iran.

Asked over the weekend about the chance of an extension, Trump replied: “I don’t know. Maybe not. Maybe I won’t extend it. But the blockade is going to remain.”

The US has maintained its blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran lifted and then reimposed its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which typically handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied gas supply.

Oil prices eased from earlier highs to stand around 3-4% up on the day as traders remained fearful that the ceasefire would collapse. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was at a virtual standstill with just three crossings in the space of 12 hours, according to shipping data.