US and Iran dig in as trust remains low
Carrie Davies
Pakistan correspondent
Image source, Reuters Image caption, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi meets Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad
We now know that Iran's foreign minister has met Pakistan's prime minister and the head of the army.
Iran has described it as bilateral talks. But the expectation is that this is about the war, with Pakistan acting as a mediator between Iran and the US. Will there be any form of movement? We don't yet know.
If the US delegation were to leave Washington in the next few hours, they wouldn't arrive in Islamabad until Sunday. Iran is planning to go to Oman and Russia next. Will they wait?
The US has said Iran wants face-to-face talks but Iran has said there are no plans for a direct meeting. There is very little trust or agreement - at the moment they can't even get on the same page about that.
Both sides seem to be digging in. There is no public indication that the US is willing to shift its position on the blockade of Iranian ports, or that Iran is willing to change its position on nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Pakistan - acting as a bridge between the two - is in an ever-stretching role to find common ground.