• Pakistan has received an amended peace proposal from Iran as it serves as a crucial backchannel mediator in ongoing US-Iran negotiations, reflecting diplomatic efforts to resolve escalating tensions.
• The development indicates continued high-level diplomatic engagement despite stalled formal negotiations and previous ceasefire attempts, with Pakistan playing a strategic intermediary role in the Middle East crisis.
• Successful mediation efforts could have significant implications for global markets, crude oil prices, and regional stability, directly affecting India's energy security and economic growth prospects.
• Russia's Mikhail Ulyanov stated in Vienna that US tactics of strength, blackmail, ultimatums, and deadlines fail against Iran and undermine talks.
• Hours before Araghchi's Moscow meeting with Putin, Ulyanov criticized Washington's approach amid broader Eurasian conflicts involving Ukraine and Iran.
• The remarks align with Iran's regional tour, including Pakistan and Russia, as Tehran coordinates with allies against US pressure.
US president says there’s ‘no reason to meet’ Tehran unless they agree never to have nuclear weaponsWelcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.Donald Trump has said Iran can telephone if it wants to negotiate an end to the war and that it must agree never to have a nuclear weapon, while Pakistan’s leaders have sought to revive the stalled peace talks between Washington and Tehran.Iran gave the US a new proposal on reopening the strait and ending the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage, according to the news site Axios. The US state department and White House did not immediately comment on the Sunday report, which cited an unnamed US official and two sources.Araghchi’s talks with Pakistani officials on Sunday had included “implementing a new legal regime over the strait of Hormuz, receiving compensation, guaranteeing no renewed military aggression by warmongers and lifting the naval blockade”, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency. In the talks with Omani leader Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, Araghchi called for a regional security framework free of outside interference.Araghchi would meet with Putin “in continuation of the diplomatic jihad to advance the country’s interests and amid external threats”, Iran’s envoy in Russia, Kazem Jalali, said on X.Two US air force C-17s carrying security staff, equipment and vehicles used to protect US officials flew out of Pakistan after the latest diplomatic trip was called off, two Pakistani government sources told Reuters on Sunday. Continue reading...
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were to travel to Islamabad to attempt to revive ceasefire negotiationsDonald Trump said he has told US envoys not to go to Pakistan for more talks with Iran, shortly after Tehran’s top diplomat left Islamabad late on Saturday.Trump added to Fox News: “They can call us anytime they want.” The White House on Friday said Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would travel to Pakistan’s capital to attempt to revive ceasefire negotiations. Continue reading...
Iranian foreign minister has landed in Islamabad but his ministry says there will be no direct negotiations with the US envoyThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched strikes in three areas in southern Lebanon against what it claimed were Hezbollah rocket launchers.The strikes hit the villages of Deir al-Zahrani, Kfar Reman and al-Sama’iya, which are north of where IDF forces are located in southern Lebanon. Continue reading...
• Israeli and Hamas delegations reached an agreement for a two-month ceasefire in Gaza, brokered by US diplomatic envoys and Egyptian mediators over the past week.
• The deal includes provisions for humanitarian aid corridors, release of remaining hostages held by Hamas, and dismantling of restrictions on Palestinian civilian movement in designated zones.
• The agreement marks a significant diplomatic victory for the US, though skeptics question whether the ceasefire will hold given previous failed peace attempts and hardline opposition from both sides.
• Turkey and Greece opened fresh talks on maritime boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean, with NATO officials mediating discussions aimed at resolving long-standing territorial disputes.
• Both nations agreed to establish a permanent dialogue mechanism and conduct joint scientific surveys of disputed seabed areas, marking the most substantive progress in five years.
• The US views the agreement as critical to regional stability, particularly given strategic concerns about Russian naval activity in the Mediterranean and the need for unified NATO positioning.
• North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile from its western region Tuesday evening, the sixth such test in the past three months despite frozen nuclear diplomacy with the US.
• US officials assessed the missile demonstrated improved guidance systems, suggesting continued weapons development despite economic sanctions and international isolation.
• The test complicates efforts to restart dialogue, with South Korea calling for emergency trilateral talks involving Japan to address escalating regional security threats.
• Colombian President Gustavo Petro unveiled a comprehensive land redistribution program Friday affecting 3.2 million hectares, targeting decades of unequal land concentration and addressing root causes of internal conflict.
• The reform package includes restitution for peasants and Indigenous communities, tax incentives for productive small-scale agriculture, and international financing commitments worth $4.8 billion over five years.
• The announcement occurs during peace negotiations with remaining ELN guerrilla factions, with analysts viewing land reform as critical to achieving durable peace and reducing rural poverty affecting 38% of the population.
• A fragile US-Iran ceasefire is set to expire on April 22, 2026, with diplomatic talks stalled and tensions escalating over competing demands and military posturing.
• Iran's spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei criticized the US position as unrealistic, while Tehran condemned Washington's naval blockade as provocative and a potential trigger for ceasefire violations.
• Pakistan continues mediating indirect talks between the two nations, though no date has been set for the next round of negotiations as fears of renewed escalation mount.
