No delegation from Iran visits Islamabad, state television says, as talks speculation grows

Iranian state television on Tuesday issued an on-screen alert saying that “no delegation from Iran has visited Islamabad ... so far” as speculation about possible talks with the United States grows.

The on-screen alert likely reflects the internal debate ongoing within Iran’s theocracy as it weighs how to respond to the U.S. Navy’s seizure of an Iranian container ship over the weekend.

Iranian state TV long has been controlled by hard-liners within Iran’s theocracy.

So far, no official has acknowledged that a delegation will be heading to Islamabad, where officials have been on standby for days now for the possible talks.

Maira Butt21 April 2026 11:21

Watch: Dozens of US veterans detained during Iran war protest in Washington DC

Maira Butt21 April 2026 11:00

As Trump’s ceasefire nears its end, those trapped inside Iran ask: ‘What happens to us now?’

ahra* woke up in the middle of the night at around 3.30am on 8 April, just before the ceasefire was announced. She could hear the hum of electricity. “Thank god,” she said. “The power hasn’t gone out.”

“On the one hand, I was happy they hadn’t hit the power plants, but immediately after that happiness there was a strange fear. A kind of freezing feeling took over me,” she told The Independent. “What is going to happen to us now in their [the Islamic Republic’s] hands? It felt like that fear quickly erased the joy.”

Read the full story below

Maira Butt21 April 2026 10:40

In pictures: US Central Command releases new pictures of US blockade

Maira Butt21 April 2026 10:20

Germany's Wadephul urges Iran to take 'extended hand' of US for sake of own population

Germany’s foreign minister Johann Wadephul has urged Iran to hold constructive talks with the United States in Islamabad.

“As we know, the US vice president is prepared to travel to Islamabad,” Wadephul said ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.

“Iran should now take up this offer for the sake of its own people.”

Maira Butt21 April 2026 10:03

Uranium, sanctions and the Strait of Hormuz: The key issues preventing Iran and the US from striking a deal

The ceasefire agreement between Iran and the US appears to be in jeopardy, as Tehran refused to join a second round of talks which mediators hoped would begin this week.

Washington had hoped to resume negotiations in Pakistan shortly before the two-week ceasefire expires on Wednesday, but Mr Baghaei said the US was “not serious” about peace, demonstrated by its “aggressive acts” and “unrealistic positions”.

Maira Butt21 April 2026 09:44

US releases video of helicopter crew enforcing Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade

Annabel Bate reports:

Footage shared by the US Central Command on Monday (20 April) shows a crew member communicating with a ship attempting to enter an area of blockade, warning that the blockade on Iranian ports will be enforced against all ships “regardless of flag”.

He added: “Any vessel will further intent to enter or exit An Iranian port will be subject to the right of visit and search in accordance with international law.

“If you attempt to run the blockade, we will compel compliance with force.”

CENTCOM says US forces have directed 27 vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port.

Maira Butt21 April 2026 09:17

UN Agency prepares Hormuz evacuation for hundreds of ships

Hundreds of ships are to be evacuated from the Strait of Hormuz, according to a report in Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The International Maritime Organisation is working on a a strategy to help hundreds of ships that have been stranded in the Persian Gulf for over seven weeks, according to Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez.

However, the plans can only be put into action when there is a de-escalation, Dominguez said.

Maira Butt21 April 2026 08:54

Driven by the pressures of war, Iran gives its field commanders more power over militias in Iraq

Iran has granted its commanders greater autonomy over militias in Iraq, allowing some groups to carry out operations without Tehran’s approval, a shift driven by the pressures of the war, three militia members and two other officials told The Associated Press.

Many Iran-backed militias are funded through the Iraqi state budget and embedded within the security apparatus, drawing criticism from the United States and other countries that have borne the brunt of their attacks and say Baghdad has failed to take a tougher stance.

Despite mounting pressure from the U.S., Baghdad has struggled to contain or deter the groups. The most hard-line factions now operate under Iranian advisers using a decentralized command structure, the five officials told AP, each on condition of anonymity to speak freely about sensitive matters.

Maira Butt21 April 2026 08:29

Iran says it has 'prepared new cards' on the battlefield

Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and one of its key negotiators, has warned that Tehran has prepared “news cards to play on the battlefield”.

In a post on X last night, he wrote: “Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table— in his own imagination— into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering.

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Alex Croft21 April 2026 08:10