Islamabad – Mediators led by Pakistan have received confirmation. JD Vance and Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf will arrive in Islamabad in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Officially, no one says this. Iranian state television reports that no delegation has departed so far. And yet the Serena Hotel stands empty, the government district is sealed off, and a city that has been holding its breath for days is waiting for two men whose arrival no one confirms and who are still coming.
A city that has transformed
Islamabad is on heightened alert after initial parts of the US delegation reached Nur Khan Airbase.
Islamabad now resembles a fortress
In these hours, Islamabad is no longer a place that functions by normal rules. Heavily armed soldiers stand on streets that are otherwise unguarded. Schools have switched to remote learning, trucks are no longer allowed to enter the city, offices and businesses are waiting for closure orders. The Serena Hotel, where the first round of talks took place, has been cleared. Anyone who sees all of this and still believes no one is coming is not looking, but looking away.
The Pakistani government has ordered remote work for all ministries and federal authorities in the so called Red Zone in Islamabad for Wednesday, April 22, 2026. The reason is a security measure. At the same time, all officials and staff are required to remain on standby and be available at short notice if their presence in the office becomes necessary. The order has been officially issued and applies to the entire government apparatus in the affected area.
Trump pointing in every direction at once
Speaking to PBS News, Trump says Iran was obligated to show up. We agreed to be there, he says, and warns that if the ceasefire expires, a lot of bombs will go off. On Truth Social, he writes that he is under no pressure at all, even though everything will happen relatively quickly. Speaking to Bloomberg, he says the end of the ceasefire is one day later than expected, on Wednesday evening Washington time, and that an extension is highly unlikely. The blockade of Iranian ports will remain until Iran gives in on its nuclear program. Anyone listening to this man these days does not hear a strategy. They hear an instrument tuned differently depending on the audience, yet always playing the same song.
Ghalibaf says no, and still flies
No good mood in Tehran
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf publicly declared this week that his country will not accept talks under the shadow of American threats. He announced that new cards would be revealed on the battlefield if the conflict flares up again. Iranian representatives say Washington has not negotiated in good faith. State television, controlled by hardliners for years, reports hourly that no delegation has departed. And at the same time, mediators confirm his arrival for early tomorrow morning. What is said publicly and what actually happens are two different languages in this war that happen to use the same words.
In Tehran, people are speaking
While Vance packs his suitcase and Ghalibaf assembles his delegation, people in Tehran are speaking. This cursed ceasefire has broken us, they say. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. The situation is terrible, and no one around them is doing well. No delegation, no title, no press release. Just sentences that land because they were not crafted for anyone. Sentences no one in Islamabad will hear when the doors close tomorrow morning.
What this night means
The ceasefire is expiring. The delegations are coming - or they are not, depending on which channel one believes at the moment. The Serena Hotel is ready. The bombs are ready. Somewhere in between lies the question of whether this night is the beginning of something or the end of what was left. Right now, waiting is the only form of the present that truly exists. Islamabad holds it entirely on its own.
To be continued .....
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