Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has reportedly resigned from Iran’s negotiating team following an intervention by the IRGC. He has held the position of Speaker since 2020.
This significant development in the US–Iran peace negotiations, following a months-long conflict in West Asia, is definitely going to affect the outcome of the talks.
Following a months-long conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran, which shook the West Asia region, attempts were made to establish peace in the region. Pakistan played the role of a peacemaker between Washington and Tehran, bringing them to the negotiating table to help diffuse tensions between the countries involved. The first round of direct negotiations was held in Islamabad on April 11.
After 21 hours of negotiations, talks reached a stalemate, with US Vice President JD Vance stating that no agreement had been reached with Iran. He also described the development as “bad news for Iran.”
Tensions escalated slightly after the first round ended in failure, prompting the proposal of a second round of talks.
The deadline was set to expire on Wednesday (April 22), and there was hope that the second round of direct negotiations would take place before that; however, the talks never happened, as neither the US delegation nor the Iranian delegation reached Islamabad, Pakistan, for them.
US-Iran Ceasefire Agreement Extended
The end of the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran was just hours away until President Trump made a major announcement regarding the talks. He extended the ceasefire agreement with Iran hours before it was set to expire.
Taking to Truth Social, he said, “Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so, and upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump posted.
However, he said that the blockade of ports on Iran’s coast in the Strait of Hormuz will continue. He also said that the ceasefire will remain in place until Iran’s proposal is submitted and talks are concluded.
