Iran’s state news agency IRNA on Sunday rejected reports of a fresh round of US-Iran talks in Pakistan as “not true,” hours after President Donald Trump announced that a delegation led by Vice President JD Vance would travel to Islamabad on Monday.
IRNA, posting on Telegram without naming an official or institution, accused Washington of making “excessive” demands, contradicting itself and shifting positions. It said the combination of the US blockade of Iranian ports and “threatening rhetoric” had “so far hindered the progress of the negotiations.” The agency concluded that “in these circumstances, there is no bright prospect for fruitful negotiations.” Two outlets affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Tasnim and Fars, separately cast doubt on Iran’s participation, with Tasnim stating the Iranian team would not return to the table while the blockade remained in place.
Mahmoud Nabavian, an Iranian lawmaker who was part of the earlier Islamabad delegation, went further on social media, warning of a “renewed military operation” against Iran. “The arrival of enemy equipment in the region, alongside claims of a naval blockade of Iran, similar to the negotiation process and assertions that the war has ended, are nothing but a deception,” he wrote, adding that any attack would be met by strikes on “all economic interests and infrastructure belonging to America, the regional energy infrastructure” and Israel.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a 45-minute phone call with President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday evening, his office said, with “detailed exchanges on the current regional situation.” The statement made no reference to fresh talks.
No named Iranian official has yet confirmed or rejected participation in the Monday round. The contradictory signals mean the US delegation’s Monday arrival in Islamabad may proceed without an Iranian counterpart.
