Saturday, 25 Apr, 2026
Published: April 24, 2026, 10:37 PM
Major shake-up in Iran-US talks.
The landscape of Middle Eastern diplomacy shifted unexpectedly on Friday as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, resigned from his position as the head of the negotiating team with the United States.
Reports from Iran International indicate that Ghalibaf’s departure was not entirely voluntary. He reportedly faced severe backlash from hardliners within the Iranian establishment after attempting to incorporate nuclear issues into the ongoing backchannel discussions with Washington. This internal friction highlights the deep-seated divisions in Tehran regarding how to engage with the West.
Ghalibaf’s exit comes at a critical juncture as negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, appear to be gaining momentum. Analysts suggest that the leadership of the Iranian delegation may now fall to Saeed Jalili, a known hardliner, or Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Sources close to the ministry suggest that Araghchi is particularly keen on taking the helm of these discussions. The transition marks a potentially more rigid or perhaps more strategically aligned phase for Iranian diplomacy, depending on which faction secures control over the narrative in the coming days.
According to Reuters, there has been "significant progress" in the US-Iran talks currently hosted in the Pakistani capital. To solidify these gains, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Islamabad tonight leading a high-level delegation.
The groundwork for this visit has been laid over several days of intense diplomatic activity. Earlier this week, Araghchi held a telephone conversation with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, a move confirmed by both nations. The discussion reportedly focused on regional stability, ceasefire efforts, and the broader context of the US-Iran dialogue.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry noted that Minister Dar emphasized the necessity of maintaining a long-term dialogue to ensure regional peace. Araghchi, in turn, expressed gratitude for Pakistan`s constructive role as a facilitator between the two adversarial powers. The logistical scale of these talks is underscored by the arrival of at least nine US aircraft in Islamabad earlier this week.
These flights reportedly transported sophisticated communication gear, specialized vehicles, and security personnel, signaling that the talks have moved beyond mere introductory phases into substantive technical territory.
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