Pakistani Mediators Arrive in Iran to Keep Peace Talks Alive

 

Pakistani Mediators Arrive in Iran to Keep Peace Talks Alive

The diplomacy came as the White House dismissed reports that President Trump wanted to extend the cease-fire, while still expressing optimism that talks could yield an agreement.

 

Published April 15, 2026

Updated April 16, 2026, 2:31 a.m. ET

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/04/15/world/iran-war-trump-us-israel

Aaron Boxerman Erika Solomon Tyler Pager Karoun Demirjian and Pranav Baskar

 

Here’s the latest.

Senior Pakistani mediators, including the army chief, Syed Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday for talks aimed at shoring up the cease-fire between Iran and the United States before it expires next week.

 

Iran has continued to exchange messages with the United States through Pakistan since the initial talks ended without an agreement on Sunday, and the two sides have yet to agree to another round, Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said Wednesday.

 

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, expressed optimism about the negotiations. “We feel good about the prospects of a deal,” she told reporters, adding, “It’s obviously in the best interests of Iran to meet the president’s demands.”

 

The diplomacy came as Iran threatened to halt all trade in the region in response to an American naval blockade of its ports. The U.S. military said on Wednesday it had halted goods going into and leaving Iran by sea over the last two days. If the blockade continues, Iran’s military said it would try to stop ships heading to other countries in the region.

 

“Iran’s powerful armed forces will not allow any exports or imports to continue in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea,” said Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, who leads the military joint command that oversees Iran’s army and Revolutionary Guards.

 

It is unclear how much control Iran can exert over shipping. Iran’s allies in Yemen, the Houthi militia, have proved capable of attacking shipping in the Red Sea, and Iran’s armed forces, while battered, still have the ability to harass ships in the Strait of Hormuz with mines and fast boats.

 

Here’s what else we’re covering:

 

Lebanon: Israel is considering a possible cease-fire in Lebanon that could pause its war against Iran-backed Hezbollah, three Israeli officials said on Wednesday. It is unclear whether Hezbollah would go along with a cease-fire even if Israel and the Lebanese government agreed to one. Read more ›

 

Iranian rescues: Emergency teams have rescued more than 7,200 Iranians from rubble after U.S. and Israeli bombings throughout the war, the president of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, Pir Hossein Kolivand, said. The Iranian authorities have released little comprehensive information about the dead and wounded in the country, more than a month into the war.

 

War powers vote: Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked the latest Democratic-led effort to curb President Trump’s authority to wage war on Iran. The move to take up the measure failed on a vote of 52 to 47 that fell largely along party lines.