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Araghchi “will hold meetings with Pakistan’s senior leadership to discuss the latest regional developments as well as ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability”, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, without directly referencing talks with Washington emissaries.

Vice President JD Vance is not currently planning to attend, but he will be on standby to travel to Islamabad if negotiations progress, according to CNN, which first recorded the travel plans.

Islamabad was the venue for the first round of talks between the US and Iran.

Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking around the same time the news emerged, told a briefing that Iran had a chance to make a “good deal” with the United States.

“Iran knows that they still have an open window to choose wisely ... at the negotiating table. All they have to do is abandon a nuclear weapon in meaningful and verifiable ways,” he said.

Reports on Aragchi’s trip in Iranian state media and the Pakistani sources made no mention of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, who was the head of its delegation at the only talks held so far, earlier this month.

Pakistani sources had said earlier that a US logistics and security team was already in place in Islamabad for potential talks.

The second round of peace talks had been expected on Tuesday but never took place, with Iran saying it was not yet ready to commit to attending, and a US delegation led by JD Vance never left Washington.

President Donald Trump unilaterally extended a two-week ceasefire on Tuesday at the 11th hour indefinitely to allow more time to reconvene the negotiators.

Oil prices fell yesterday over the prospect of more talks.

Equities traded mixed, however, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite set a fresh record high in New York, thanks to a surge in stocks of chip manufacturing firms like Intel, which saw its shares rocket 25 percent higher after it smashed quarterly earnings expectations.

Oil prices had been climbing earlier in the day as investors worried about a lack of progress in ending the Middle East crisis, with Tehran keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed and the US maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports.

But they dropped as reports of the possible talks came in. Brent crude, the international benchmark contract, fell back below $100 a barrel.

The positive news from the market also came as Israel and Lebanon on Thursday extended a separate ceasefire for three weeks at a meeting at the White House brokered by Trump.

Trump said on Thursday he was in no rush to reach an agreement with Iran and wanted it to be “everlasting,” while asserting that the US had an upper hand in a standoff in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also said that he would not use a nuclear weapon in the war against Iran.

“Why would I use a nuclear weapon? We’ve totally, in a very conventional way, decimated them without it,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked whether he would use such a weapon.

“No, I wouldn’t use it. A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybody,” he added.

Asked how long he was willing to wait for a long-term peace deal with Iran, Trump said, “Don’t rush me.”

Despite the tough talks, the US has yet to find a way to open the strait, where Iran has blocked nearly all ships apart from its own since the start of the war eight weeks ago. Iran showed off its control this week by seizing two huge cargo vessels there.

Trump imposed a separate blockade of Iranian shipping last week, with US forces boarding several Iranian ships in international waters. Iran says it will not reopen the strait until Trump lifts his blockade.