Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar will visit Washington on Friday where he will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
The visit comes as Islamabad is attempting to negotiate a peace pact to permanently end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Dar will meet Rubio “to review bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and global developments of mutual interest”, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told CBS in a phone interview on Saturday that the two sides were “getting a lot closer” to a deal, but also warned that if they do not reach an agreement “we’re going to have a situation where no country will ever be hit as hard as they’re about to be hit”.
Iran said gaps remain between the parties, and the dispute over its nuclear programme would not be part of the initial talks, but that it was finalising a 14-point framework for a deal.
In a sign of the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the talks, Trump also told another US outlet, Axios, on Saturday that the chances of a deal were a “solid 50/50”.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei noted what he called “a trend towards rapprochement” but said “it does not necessarily mean that we and the United States will reach an agreement on the important issues”.
“Our intention was first to draft a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” he said on state television.
Baghaei added that he hoped the details of a final agreement could be worked out “within a reasonable timeframe between 30 to 60 days” after the framework is finalised.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also expressed optimism, as Pakistan’s army chief, a key go-between between the United States and Iran, left Tehran after two days of talks with senior Iranian leaders.
“There is a chance that, whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say,” Rubio told reporters on Saturday during a visit to New Delhi, adding that he hoped that he would soon be able to announce “good news”.
The Pakistani army said the negotiations had resulted in “encouraging” progress towards a final understanding. Two Pakistani sources involved in negotiations said the deal being negotiated is “fairly comprehensive to terminate the war”.
Sources have told Reuters the proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, which can be extended.
A Pakistani security official said that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was being “fine-tuned”.
If the US and Iran agree, the MOU would lead to further talks after the Eid holiday ends on Friday.
