Switched Planes, Took Bus, Train: Iranian Delegation Claims Threats After Failed US Talks

The Iranian delegation reportedly faced urgent security threats while en route to Tehran after ceasefire talks with the United States failed in Islamabad, Pakistan. Iranian political analyst Mohammad Marandi told the Lebanese news outlet Al-Mayadeen that amid heightened caution, the group, including Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, switched their flight midway and took an alternative route to reach Tehran by bus and train. 

Marandi, a professor at Tehran University, has accompanied the Iranian delegation to Islamabad. He told the Lebanese news outlet that the Iranian delegation felt seriously threatened during their return from negotiations in Pakistan. 

He noted that the Iranian delegation faced direct security threats while heading for negotiations with the United States in Islamabad, stating, "We received direct threats while en route to Islamabad that our plane might be attacked."

"As a result, on the way back to Tehran, the delegation secretly switched planes," he said. 

In an interview to @MayadeenEnglish, professor @s_m_marandi states the Iranian delegation felt seriously threatened during their return from negotiations in Pakistan. The talks ended abruptly after US Vice President Vance's intervention, coinciding exactly with the publication of… pic.twitter.com/S7pgND3Uoq

— Javed Hassan (@javedhassan) April 13, 2026

The Iranian delegation's aircraft then suddenly diverted and made an emergency landing in the Iranian city of Mashhad, and from there, the members continued their journey to Tehran by train, car, and bus, the political analyst said. 

"We don't trust the United States," Marandi told Al-Mayadeen on Tuesday, "and we are also being very busy preparing ourselves for the next round of war."

Iran "always knew the United States was deceitful", he continued, adding that the regime is bolstering its military capabilities "while we are at the negotiating table".

Photo Credit: AFP

US and Iran May Return To Islamabad 

Negotiating teams from the US and Iran could return to Pakistan later this week to resume negotiations to end the war in the Middle East, days after the first peace talks ended without a breakthrough, Reuters reported, quoting Pakistani and Iranian officials.

There was no immediate confirmation from US officials about the plans, which the Iranian and Pakistani officials discussed on condition of anonymity.

A source who has been involved in the talks said a proposal had been sent to Washington and Tehran for the delegations to return to Islamabad to resume discussions. No date had yet been decided, but both countries could return as early as the end of this week.

An official at the Iranian embassy in Islamabad said, "The coming rounds of talks can come sometime later this week or earlier next week. But nothing is finalised as of now."

Earlier, a senior Iranian source told Reuters, "No firm date has been set, with the delegations keeping Friday through Sunday open."

A senior Pakistani official said Islamabad had reached out to Iran, "and we got a positive response that they will be open to a second round of talks."

The official and a second Pakistani source said Islamabad was communicating with both sides about the timing of the next round, and the meeting would be likely to take place over the coming weekend.

Last weekend's meeting in Pakistan's capital to resolve the conflict between the US and Iran, held four days after the announcement of a ceasefire, reached no breakthrough. It was the first direct encounter between the US and Iranian officials in more than a decade and the most senior engagement since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.