🇦🇫❌🇵🇰 - Reports of explosions in Kabul are false. The sound is related to the Taliban engaging the drone with anti-aircraft guns.

🚨🇸🇦🇵🇰 - The arrival of Pakistani jets in Saudi Arabia is intended to bolster Riyadh’s efforts to develop C-UAS counter-drone capabilities against crucial energy infrastructure. This will help protect Saudi airspace in the event of a ceasefire collapse.

- Saudi sources

🇮🇷☢️🇺🇸 - Iran survived five weeks of punishing U.S. and Israeli bombing with most of the tools it needs to make a nuclear bomb intact, officials and experts say, posing a challenge for U.S. negotiators as the issue once again bedevils talks with Tehran.

- WSJ

🇮🇷🇵🇰🇺🇸 - Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi first statement post Islamabad talks:

In intensive talks at highest level in 47 years, Iran engaged with U.S in good faith to end war.

But when just inches away from "Islamabad MoU", we encountered maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade.

Zero lessons earned

Good will begets good will.
Enmity begets enmity.

🇺🇸❌🇸🇦🇰🇼🇧🇭🇵🇰 - Amid the failure of U.S. defense arrangements and a new deployment of Pakistan Air Force assets to Saudi Arabia several other GCC countries are also looking at Islamabad as a replacement security provider.

One possible path forward is also exploiting the close relationship between China and Pakistan to have the GCC fund further Pakistani purchases of Chinese defense equipment and aircraft; thereby bringing Beijing into the equation:

- SCMP

🇺🇸🇮🇷 NEW: - Trump says Iran has “called” and wants to continue negotiations.

"it won’t be pleasant for them” if a U.S.-Iran deal is not reached before the nominal April 21 deadline." - he added.

🎥✊⚡️🇵🇰 - The Pakistan-based militant group Balochistan Liberation Army (#BLA), has released footage of an attack on a Pakistan Coast Guard patrol boat resulting in the deaths of three personnel.

This is the first time a Pakistan-based insurgent group has conducted a sea attack.

However it’s not new in South Asia. For years, such deadly sea-based ambushes were conducted by the LTTE’s naval wing, the Sea Tigers, against Sri Lankan Navy.

➡️ https://t.me/war_noir/23693

🔍🇮🇷🇵🇰🇺🇸 - Iran watchers in the US predict technical talks between the US and Iran will take place in Islamabad on Thursday.

🇵🇰🇺🇸🇮🇷 - NEW: Anadolu Agency, citing a Pakistani government source:

A new high-level round of US–Iran talks is expected to take place in Islamabad very soon.

Participants are still unclear, but timing matters: Donald Trump is reportedly pushing for a deal before his planned May 2 trip to China.

“Can’t confirm the exact date yet… but definitely soon -in fact, very soon,” the source said.

🇺🇸🇵🇰🇮🇷 - JD Vance says the Iranian delegation in Pakistan lacked authority to finalize a deal and needed approval from higher leadership.

“This is ultimately why we left Pakistan because what we figured out is that they were unable.”

“I think the team that was there was unable to cut a deal and they had to go back to Tehran, either from the Supreme Leader or somebody else and actually get approval to the turn.”

“So, again, whether we have further conversations, whether we ultimately get to a deal, I really think the ball is in the Iranian court because we put a lot on the table. We actually made very clear what our red lines were.”

“We also made clear that we actually would be very happy. The President of the United States has said he would be very happy if Iran was treated like a normal country.”

“The ball is in the Iranian court.”

🇺🇸🇵🇰🇮🇷 - US Vice President Vance says Iran talks in Pakistan made 'a lot of progress,' and 'things went right'

US expects Iran to 'continue to make progress' toward opening Strait of Hormuz - he added.

🇺🇸🇵🇰🇮🇷 - United States VP Vance on Islamabad talks: "I think it was the first time that you'd ever seen the Iranian government, the U.S. government meet at such a high level, maybe in the history of the current leadership of Iran. So that's, I think, a positive and again, we did make some progress in the negotiation”

📸🇮🇷🇵🇰🇺🇸 - A photo showing the main Iranian delegation assembled late at night at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad during the closing hours of negotiations with the United States on April 12.

🇵🇰 - Prince Rahim Agha Khan Foundation provided Serena Hotel accommodation, food & all related services to the Government of Pakistan for the United States x Iran peace talks, completely free as a goodwill gesture.

🚨🇺🇸🇵🇰🇮🇷 - NEW: US President Trump told the New York Post Iran talks could take place in Pakistan “within the next two days.”

🇺🇸🗣️🇵🇰 - Trump to the New York Post:

"You should stay there (Islamabad), really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there.

It's more likely, you know why? Because the field marshal [Pakistan army chief Asim Munir] is doing a great job."

"He's fantastic, and therefore it's more likely that we go back there,"