Iran's envoy says any future US talks to be held only in Pakistan

Iran’s envoy to Pakistan on Thursday said that any second round of talks with the United States would be held only in Islamabad, saying Pakistan was a “credible and neutral facilitator”. Pakistan took centre stage when it brokered a 14-day ceasefire between the US and Iran, followed by high-stakes talks in Islamabad attended by senior delegations from the two countries. Although the talks did not yield the desired results, the ceasefire remains intact, and speculation about a second round of negotiations continues to grow. Speaking at an event hosted by the Institute of Regional Studies in Islamabad, Ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam expressed strong confidence in Islamabad, Hum News reported. “We trust Pakistan, not the United States,” he said, adding that Washington was a country “that cannot be relied upon”. Any future talks would take place in Pakistan “and nowhere else", Moghadam stressed. Earlier, the White House also said the expected talks would likely be held in Islamabad. Pakistan hosted the highest-level talks between the US and Iran since 1979 over the weekend, which, however, remained inconclusive. Urging against speculation, Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said that the US and Iran remained willing to engage as dialogue continues. Andrabi said Iran’s nuclear programme was among the issues discussed in the ongoing negotiations, which he described as “serious and constructive”. Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir is currently visiting Iran for talks with Iranian leaders.