US President Donald Trump has said he may travel to Islamabad, Pakistan, if a deal with Iran is finalised there — the first time the president has offered to personally attend the peace talks.
“If a deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go,” Trump said, in a statement reported on Thursday.
Escalation of engagement
The offer marks a significant escalation of US diplomatic investment in the Pakistan-mediated process. Pakistan hosted the original US-Iran talks on April 11–12, which ended without agreement after the two sides failed to bridge a gap on Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme.
Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir has since been in Tehran meeting Iranian leaders to revive the negotiations. The five-versus-twenty-year enrichment freeze gap remains the key sticking point, though Iran’s foreign minister has signalled flexibility on enrichment type and level.
Stakes for Sri Lanka
A presidential visit to Islamabad for an Iran deal signing would be a dramatic diplomatic moment, but the practical significance for Sri Lanka lies in what any deal would mean for the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway’s on-and-off closure since early April has driven Sri Lanka’s worst fuel crisis in years, with CPC paying premiums as high as $286 per barrel.
A durable deal that guarantees Hormuz access would structurally lower Sri Lanka’s energy import costs and remove the rationale for fuel rationing measures that have been in place for weeks.
