The New York Post texted President Trump to ask about the possibility of renewed mediation efforts and talks within the next 36-72 hours and he responded:

“It’s possible! President DJT.”

Signing texts is a strange one but I wouldn’t run too far with this report. Perhaps the more notable part is that it cited “Pakistani sources” on positive mediation efforts:

Sources in Islamabad touted positive mediation efforts with Tehran renewing the possibility of more peace talks within the next “36 to 72 hours.”

There was also a quirk in a Fars report. A quote attributed to Ismail Baghaei, the spokesman for the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry, regarding “accepting a ceasefire mediated by Pakistan” was published but was deleted minutes later. It was quickly picked up but now Fars says that news about a ceasefire has not been published by any official source.

Between these two reports, you get the sense that there is some good news behind the scenes but it’s going to be a bumpy road. They’re still fighting over the preliminary conditions for talks and not the details of any agreement. It’s hard to say whether the IRGC is driving a hard line, it’s miscommunication or US efforts to sow confusion. I also tend to think that Iran dragging this out works in their favor as every day of delay tightens the global oil market.

Update: Now CNN echoes earlier reports saying that Trump has given Iranian negotiators a “limited timeframe” to come up with a unified proposal to get negotiations back on track. That’s been reported elsewhere as 3-5 days but it’s likely that Trump hasn’t given them a firm timeline. Also note that he back off of ‘deadlines’ around attacking infrastructure 5 times now so it’s not like the exact timeframe matters anyway.

There is this as well as Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson to BBC:

Iran has not yet decided whether it will join the next round of talks with the U.S. late this week in Islamabad.

“If we reach the conclusion that going to Islamabad serves our national interests, we will go there.”