Pakistani PM in diplomatic blitz ahead of next U.S.-Iran talks

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is embarking on a four-day diplomatic blitz to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey on Wednesday as part of Islamabad’s effort to arrange a second round of United States-Iran peace talks.

“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will undertake official visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkiye from 15 to 18 April 2026,” Islamabad’s foreign ministry said.

The visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar would be conducted “in the bilateral context” while in Turkey, Sharif will participate in the Antalya Diplomacy Forum and will hold bilateral meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders on the sidelines, the statement said.

Washington and Tehran held their first face-to-face talks in decades in Islamabad over the weekend, with efforts underway to end the more than six-week war that began when the US and Israel attacked Iran.

The war has plunged the Middle East into conflict, with Iran’s retaliation targeting US allies in the Gulf — including Saudi Arabia and Qatar — and blocking energy exports from the region.

While the Islamabad talks ended without an agreement to end the conflict, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that negotiations could resume this week in Islamabad.

A fragile ceasefire remains in place until next week, despite the US ordering a naval blockade of Iran.

Hormuz blockade

The US on Sunday announced its own blockade after peace talks with Iran failed.

The US military said Tuesday its blockade had held and that it had stopped six vessels from sailing out of Iranian ports outside the Gulf during the first 24 hours.

“No ships made it past the US blockade and six merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman,” outside the strait, regional command CENTCOM said in a post on X.

It said the blockade was “being enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.”

At least three ships sailing from Iranian ports crossed the Hormuz Strait despite a US military blockade, but some vessels taking the route later turned back, maritime tracking data indicated Tuesday.