Everything seems to indicate that between United States and Iran a new round of negotiations is being forged in Islamabad (Pakistan) to reach an agreement that puts an end once and for all to the hostilities between both countries.
The White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, confirmed this Friday that the US has perceived “some progress” from Tehran in recent days within the framework of the dialogue process, and is confident that these signals will materialize during conversations scheduled for this weekend.
The US president, Donald Trump, has decided to send special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to hold talks with Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, according to CNN, citing two US government officials.
Iranian state media have reported in turn that Araqchi has begun a diplomatic tour this Friday that will take him to Islamabad, where he already is, Muscat and Moscow, within the framework of bilateral contacts. However, Tehran has not confirmed whether a direct meeting or negotiations with the United States are planned in any of these trips.
And although there is not yet on the table an official calendar for those possible conversations, which are anticipated as a further step towards de-escalating the conflict, the exchange of information between official sources and leaders of both countries seem to indicate that the end of the war could be closer today than yesterday.
Tense days between the US and Iran
Everything goes back to last April 11, when the Vice President of the United States, J.D. Vance, along with special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, participated in Islamabad in a meeting with an Iranian delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The conversations began that Saturday, just a few days after the announcement of a fragile ceasefire, in a context marked by a conflict that had already been ongoing for seven weeks, causing thousands of casualties and notable instability in international markets.
But those conversations failed after all. The United States assured that Iran was not willing to accept its conditions. For Tehran, some "excessive demands".
Since then, the tension between both countries has skyrocketed, with a point that is shaping up as key in the conversations: the Strait of Hormuz. The maritime passage in the Persian Gulf, through which a large percentage of the world's oil circulates, has been closed and opened at Iran's will, responding to threats from the United States or pressure exerted by Israel on Lebanon.
In fact, Iran re-established navigation restrictions in the strait last Saturday after the United States decided to maintain the maritime blockade on Iranian ports, despite Tehran having decided to reopen the passage as long as the truce between Lebanon and Israel continued.
And between Trump's comings and goings, the president announced on Tuesday that, at Pakistan's request, he had decided to extend the ceasefire in effect until Tehran presents a formal proposal and the ongoing negotiations are completed. The decision followed a round of 'ghost' negotiations, in principle scheduled for last weekend between both countries, which ultimately never took place.
Tension in the Strait of Hormuz
In that context, Tehran and Washington face a new round of contacts. Since the war began, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recorded 29 attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf that have caused ten deaths and damage of varying severity to the vessels.
The organization does not attribute authorship of the attacks, although both Iran and the United States have claimed responsibility for some of them.
During a meeting held this Friday in London with IMO member states and shipping industry representatives, its secretary general, Arsenio Domínguez, warned that “there is no safe transit anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz”. Therefore, he recommended that shipping companies avoid this route, according to a statement from the organization.
But in the Middle East, where the victims are counted in the thousands, it is really in Lebanon. A total of 2,491 people have died, including 177 minors, and another 7,719 have been injured to varying degrees by the attacks launched by the Israeli Army against the south of the country in the last seven weeks, according to a new official balance issued by the Ministry of Public Health of Lebanon.
Last night, Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend the ceasefire for an additional three weeks, despite which, the death toll continues to rise, according to Tel Aviv, in response to attacks carried out by the Shiite militia Hezbollah in the southern region of the country.
"Piracy" Actions
This Friday, Pete Hegseth, United States Secretary of Defense, appeared at a press conference to reiterate that the operation “Epic Fury” has been a success, with “decisive results” in just a few weeks, and has assured that Iran will not manage to develop nuclear weapons.
Despite this, he has pointed out that Washington maintains the naval blockade in Hormuz. According to his data, 34 ships have had to turn back without being able to enter or leave Iranian ports. In addition, he has indicated that two ships have been intercepted in the Indo-Pacific region after leaving Iranian ports before the imposition of the blockade.
“Our blockade is intensifying and is already taking on a global dimension,” Hegseth stated. And it is that the struggle for control of the passage has intensified. Iran reported on Tuesday that it had attacked three merchant ships in Hormuz and seized two of them.
Two days earlier, Trump announced that US military forces deployed in the Gulf of Oman had intercepted and captured a large Iranian vessel after an attempt to break the blockade imposed by Washington on Iran's ports. An action that Iranian authorities described as "piracy".
Dozens of countries urge to resume dialogue
On the international stage, dozens of countries are observing the conflict with concern and urging a return to dialogue. The foreign ministers of Egypt, Germany, and Bahrain have called this Friday for the United States and Iran to resume talks to seek a political solution.
According to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the head of the portfolio, Badr Abdelaty, has held separate telephone conversations with his German counterpart, Johann Wadephul, and Bahraini counterpart, Abdulatif al Zayani, who also presides on a rotating basis over the Arab League. In these contacts, they have addressed the regional situation and efforts to reduce tension.
The parties have also addressed the progress towards a possible resumption of negotiations between Washington and Tehran, underlining the need to reach an agreement that helps contain the escalation and lays the groundwork for regional stability.
Likewise, the G7 countries have reiterated this Friday their firm determination to prevent Iran from developing or acquiring nuclear weapons, and have called for full compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which the country is a part as a signatory and ratified State.
In a joint statement, the non-proliferation officials of United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, and Canada have highlighted the fundamental role of the NPT in promoting international peace and security.
Trump assured the Reuters agency this Friday that Iran plans to present a proposal to satisfy Washington's demands. And over that new round of contacts, which we do not know for sure if it will finally take place, uncertainty about the end of the conflict looms.