Pakistan is preparing to host a second round of direct negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi meeting separately with the US and Iranian envoys on Monday to finalise security and logistical arrangements. Tehran has yet to confirm it will send a delegation, while a two-week ceasefire between the two sides — brokered partly through Pakistani mediation — is due to expire on 22 April, and Iran has again closed the Strait of Hormuz pending an end to the US blockade of its ports. Islamabad views the mediator role as a strategic opportunity to raise its international standing and attract investment, leveraging its longstanding ties with both Washington and Tehran, its status as the only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority state, and a diplomatic tradition that includes representing Iranian interests in the US since 1979.