Pakistan says still awaiting Iran confirmation for Islamabad peace talks

President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Iran’s leaders to release eight women ahead of expected negotiations with US representatives, sharing a screenshot of an X post showing images of the detainees reportedly set to be hanged.

“To the Iranian leaders, who will soon be in negotiations with my representatives: I would greatly appreciate the release of these women,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“Please do them no harm! Would be a great start to our negotiations!!!” he added.

Pakistan has urged the United States and Iran to extend their two-week ceasefire, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

In a meeting with US Chargé d’Affaires in Pakistan Natalie A. Baker, Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar stressed the need for engagement between the United States and Iran, the ministry said.

Dar also urged both sides to consider extending the ceasefire, according to the statement.

CEO Goh Miah Kiat said rising costs across petrochemical-based inputs, including synthetic rubber, nitrile and packaging materials, were forcing the company to pass on higher prices to customers. “We have no choice but to transfer the costs right now,” he said.

Karex is also seeing demand rise by about 30% this year as shipping delays and higher freight costs leave customers with lower stockpiles.

Shipments to Europe and the United States are now taking close to two months to arrive, compared with about a month previously, the company said.

The company produces more than 5 billion condoms annually and supplies major brands including Durex and Trojan, as well as public health systems such as Britain’s NHS and UN-backed aid programs.

Karex said it has enough supplies for the coming months and is looking to boost output, but warned that ongoing disruptions to energy and petrochemical flows from the Middle East are tightening global supply chains.

Iran on Tuesday condemned the United Arab Emirates over the arrest of individuals accused by Abu Dhabi of links to Tehran, calling the allegations “baseless” and politically motivated.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the detentions were carried out under “unfounded pretexts.”

Baghaei said “raising such baseless claims and anti-Iran narratives” would not deflect attention from what he described as the role of US and Israeli allies in military actions against Iran.

The comments came after the United Arab Emirates said it had dismantled a group accused of planning attacks and undermining national stability, adding that those detained had links to Iran.

“I don’t want to extend the ceasefire,” US President Donald Trump said on Iran, adding that Washington is “ready to go militarily,” according to remarks in a CNBC interview.

"I expect to be bombing because I think that's a better attitude to go in with. But we're ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go," he said.

Trump said “we don’t have that much time,” adding that the United States was negotiating from a position of strength and would “end up with a great deal.”

He said Washington was “dealing with them very successfully” and described the US as being in a “strong negotiating position.”

Trump also said the US blockade had been “a success,” referring to measures imposed during the conflict.