Pakistan’s capital Islamabad is emerging as the leading venue for the next round of technical negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, a media report said on Sunday (July 5, 2026).

The U.S. and Iran signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 18, aimed at restoring peace in West Asia. It was followed by technical-level talks in Switzerland on June 21, with Pakistan and Qatar as mediators.

The resumption of the talks is part of ongoing efforts to keep the diplomatic process on track and resolve long standing disputes between Washington and Tehran, Dawn reported quoting diplomatic sources.

“There are two possible venues for the technical talks — Islamabad and the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland,” one diplomatic source said. “Islamabad, however, is the more likely option.”

The technical talks are expected to take place on July 11, although a final decision on the venue has yet to be announced.

The talks were temporarily delayed because of the multi-day state funeral ceremonies for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian officials have indicated that the composition of Tehran’s delegation will be announced after the funeral ceremonies conclude.

Khamenei, who ruled Iran for the last three decades, was killed on February 28, the first day of the massive U.S. and Israeli joint air strikes on Tehran.

Starting on Sunday (July 5, 2026), the burial ceremonies are slated to be held in Tehran and Qom and will continue till Tuesday (July 7, 2026). The final burial ceremony will take place in the city of Mashhad on Thursday (July 9, 2026).

Dawn further quoted diplomatic sources to say that the negotiations will focus on Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief and Iranian assets frozen abroad.

The discussions are also expected to address regional security issues, including efforts to preserve stability in the Strait of Hormuz and maintain the recently agreed ceasefire in Lebanon.

The July 11 meeting is intended to advance the framework established under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, signed two weeks ago, which gave both sides 60 days to negotiate a comprehensive agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and related issues.

The latest diplomatic efforts follow indirect technical discussions held in Doha earlier this week.

U.S. President Donald Trump described those talks as “very good”, while Iranian officials said the two sides had reached an understanding on the partial release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets. U.S. officials, however, reportedly disputed that any such agreement had been reached.

Diplomatic sources said mediators from Qatar and Pakistan continued to facilitate indirect contacts during the pause in negotiations, with discussions focusing on ensuring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and preserving the 60-day ceasefire agreed after June negotiations in Switzerland.

The most recent high-level negotiations were held at Switzerland’s Burgenstock resort and were mediated by Qatar and Pakistan. Those talks produced what negotiators described as a roadmap for reaching a broader agreement covering Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief, maritime security and regional de-escalation.

Diplomatic sources said marathon negotiating sessions addressed nuclear restrictions, sanctions relief, security in the Strait of Hormuz and the Lebanon ceasefire. Although negotiators reported progress, they cautioned that the process remained fragile amid continuing tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Officials familiar with the negotiations said the next round of high-level direct talks is expected to take place in Doha during the third week of July, after technical teams complete work on the details of a possible agreement.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff was headed to Switzerland for talks, American media outlets reported on Friday (June 19, 2026), after scheduled negotiations due to take place there between the United States and Iran were postponed.

Mr. Witkoff was on his way to the alpine nation on Friday (June 19, 2026), Axios said, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

His trip comes as Washington and Iran work to get technical talks following up on an initial peace deal “back on track,” CNN said.

Also Read: West Asia war LIVE updates | Israel, Hezbollah agree ceasefire as US-Iran deal under strain

U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Jared Kushner was also expected to be in Switzerland for talks, CNN said, citing a U.S. official. Axios said he was already there.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Witkoff would hold meetings with any Iranian officials.

Vice-President J.D. Vance had initially been expected to travel but postponed his trip, the White House announced late on Thursday (June 18, 2026).

The U.S.-Iran talks scheduled for Friday (June 19, 2026) were intended to build on the deal to end the West Asia war and work towards a lasting settlement.

No new date for the negotiations has been announced.

The war began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Talks that had ​been planned ‌for Friday (June 19, 2026) between the ​United States ⁠and Iran at the Burgenstock mountaintop ‌resort in Switzerland will ‌not take ‌place, ⁠according to a ⁠Swiss foreign ministry statement.

The announcement came ​after a ‌White House spokesperson said overnight that U.S. Vice-President J.D. ​Vance had pulled out of ⁠a planned trip to meet ‌Iranian negotiators in Switzerland to begin talks on implementing an ‌agreement struck between Tehran ​and Washington to end ⁠the war. 

West Asia LIVE updates – June 19, 2026

“The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now the Vice-President is not departing tonight,” a White House spokesperson said of Mr. Vance late Thursday (June 18, 2026).

“We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible.”

In Iran, the Tasnim agency said “nothing has been confirmed” about the Iranian delegation’s trip to Switzerland.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday (June 18, 2026) that he had approved the agreement, despite reservations, even as the United States lifted a blockade of Iranian ports.

On Friday (June 19, 2026), Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that Tehran would give a “decisive” response if the agreement was breached.

The United States has seen some progress in talks with Iran and ‌is in constant communication with the Pakistani mediators, but there is more work ⁠to be done, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday (May 22, 2026).

“There’s been some progress. I wouldn’t ‌exaggerate it. I wouldn’t diminish it,” Mr. Rubio told reporters after a NATO ministers ‌meeting in Sweden.

“There’s more work ‌to ⁠be done,” he added. “We’re not there yet. ⁠I hope we get there.”

President Donald Trump would prefer to do a good deal, Mr. Rubio said. The core concern remains ‌that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and the issue of future uranium enrichment needs to be discussed, as well as ‌reopening the Strait of Hormuz, he said.

“We’re dealing with a very difficult group of people, and if it ⁠doesn’t change, then the president’s been clear he has other options,” Mr. Rubio said.

“He prefers ‌the negotiated option and having a good deal, but he himself has expressed concern that maybe that’s not possible. But we’re going to keep trying.”

Mr. Rubio said the United States was in constant communication with the ‌Pakistanis, who are facilitating the talks with Iran.

There was no specific ask from the U.S. on Friday (May 22, 2026) for help from ⁠NATO on the Strait of Hormuz, but ⁠there needs to be a Plan B if Iran refuses to reopen the ‌supply route, Mr. Rubio said after the close of the NATO meeting.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (April 21, 2026) his team would “soon” hold talks with Iranian leaders in Islamabad and that he expects the U.S. to make a “great deal”, while Tehran ruled out joining negotiations “under threats”, with the two-week ceasefire due to expire on Wednesday (April 22).

Pakistan said it has made all arrangements for the talks but has yet to receive formal confirmation from Iran about its participation, as of Tuesday evening (April 21).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to travel to Israel next week to update Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, two Trump administration officials said.

Mr. Rubio is expected to meet with Netanyahu on February 28, according to the officials, who spoke Wednesday (February 18, 2026) on condition of anonymity to detail travel plans that have not yet been announced.

The U.S. and Iran recently have held two rounds of indirect talks over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Officials from both sides publicly offered some muted optimism about progress this week, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi even saying that “a new window has opened” for reaching an agreement.

“In some ways, it went well,” U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said about the talks in an interview Tuesday (February 17, 2026) with Fox News Channel. “But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through.”

Mr. Netanyahu visited the White House last week to urge President Donald Trump to ensure that any deal about Iran’s nuclear programme also include steps to neutralise Iran’s ballistic missile program and end its funding for proxy groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

Also Read |Iran Foreign Minister in Geneva for second round of U.S. talks

Mr. Trump is weighing whether to take military action against Tehran as the administration surges military resources to the region, raising concerns that any attack could spiral into a larger conflict in the Middle East.

Last week, Mr. Trump told reporters that a change in power in Iran “seems like that would be the best thing that could happen.” He added, “For 47 years, they’ve been talking and talking and talking.”

The Trump administration has dispatched the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, from the Caribbean Sea to the Mideast to join a second carrier as well as other warships and military assets that the U.S. has built up in the region.

Iran ‘drafting framework to advance’ future U.S. talks: FM tells IAEA chief

Dozens of U.S. fighter jets, including F-35s, F-22s and F-16s, have left bases in the U.S. and Europe in recent days to head to the Middle East, according to the Military Air Tracking Alliance, a team of about 30 open-source analysts that routinely analyses military and government flight activity.

The team says it’s also tracked more than 85 fuel tankers and over 170 cargo planes heading into the region.

Steffan Watkins, a researcher based in Canada and a member of the MATA, said he also has spotted support aircraft like six of the military’s early-warning E-3 aircraft head to a base in Saudi Arabia.

Those aircraft are key for coordinating operations with a large number of aircraft. He says they were pulled from bases in Japan, Germany and Hawaii.