Islamabad: US and Iranian delegations are holding face-to-face talks in Pakistan on Saturday to end a war that plunged the Middle East into violence. The first round of discussions has ended for the day, including the second round of more technical discussions.
These are the highest-level face-to-face talks between the US and Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
The trilateral direct negotiations were taking place with host Pakistan in the capital, Islamabad, a senior White House official said, a departure from recent practice where both sides held talks via a mediator while seated in separate rooms.
Pakistani sources also said that Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, was present in the room. The field marshal, who was key in brokering the ceasefire earlier this week, is reported to have a good relationship with the US president, Donald Trump.
The first round of discussions went on for about two hours, a political source said, and was followed by a second round of more technical discussions. These technical talks were divided into key topics, with a focus on security, finance, and the Strait of Hormuz, the source added.
Iran’s media, citing a source close to negotiators, reported that another round of talks is likely to be held later tonight or tomorrow, as discussions in Islamabad continue.
Earlier, the Iranian negotiators demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon, reparations, and commitment to unblock frozen assets as part of a peace deal in a preliminary meeting with Pakistani mediators, led by Sharif.
However, the US warned it would not allow itself to be manipulated by a weakened Tehran. On his arrival, Vance said: “If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
Even as the US-Iran war talks continued in Pakistan, Pope Leo XIV, in his strongest words yet, on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the US-Israel war in Iran and demanded political leaders stop and negotiate peace.
Leo presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica on the same day the United States and Iran began face-to-face negotiations in Pakistan as a fragile ceasefire held.
The US delegation was being led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.
The Iranian delegation, composed of more than 70 members, was being led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, joined by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Prior to this engagement, US Vice President JD Vance also held a high-level meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to a statement from the White House.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also met the Pakistani Prime Minister.
The Serena Hotel has emerged as the focal point of the diplomatic activity, with both the Iranian and American delegations arriving to participate in talks.
Held under intense security, the engagement aims to stabilize a fragile ceasefire and navigate the future of regional security following the ceasefire announcement made on April 8.
Vance's diplomatic mission to Islamabad is a political minefield. To make progress in reaching a permanent agreement to end the war, he will have to satisfy several stakeholders with competing interests, who all distrust each other after a six-week military campaign that has engulfed the Middle East and roiled the global economy.
Even as high-level talks between US and Iranian delegations in Islamabad are going on, Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social again.
He repeats his assertion that the US has destroyed Iran's military, "including their entire Navy and Air Force, and everything else."
He asserts, "The Strait of Hormuz will soon be open," and repeats what he said in previous posts: that empty oil tankers are on their way to the US to "load up."
Under the conditional two-week ceasefire with Iran, Trump said he had agreed to "suspend the bombing" if Tehran agrees to reopen the strait.
In a latest development, the US Central Command says two US Navy guided-missile destroyers have transited the Strait of Hormuz today.
It says this is to ensure the waterway is clear of sea mines laid by Iran, according to a statement on X. It names the two destroyers as USS Frank E. Petersen and USS Michael Murphy.
The Strait of Hormuz, which was not a problem before this war, is now one of Iran’s most potent weapons.
Having established a chokehold on one of the world’s most important waterways, Iran wants to put in place a whole new set of rules governing maritime traffic, possibly involving the right to inspect shipping, impose tolls, or simply deny access.
That, for much of the world, especially the countries of the Gulf, is a non-starter. The problems don’t stop there. Israel and the United States want to end what they see as Iran’s malign regional influence. Iran wants the complete lifting of all international sanctions and compensation for the damage inflicted over the past month.
Having been attacked twice in the past year when it thought it was still negotiating, it also wants guarantees that such an event won’t happen again.
Meanwhile, Israel and Lebanon say they have agreed to participate in talks moderated by the US on Tuesday. The Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US reportedly spoke on the phone to set the meeting. The talks were planned as the US and Iran are planning to meet in Pakistan for their own peace talks—and Iran has said a ceasefire in Lebanon would have to be in place before any talks begin.
As direct talks between the US and Iran take place in Islamabad with Pakistan, Israel says it is continuing strikes on targets in Lebanon, which continue to cast doubt on peace talks. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted the ceasefire does not apply to Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has struck more than 200 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in the past 24 hours.
In a statement, it says its air force is carrying out further attacks and supporting ground forces operating in southern Lebanon. The IDF also says it is targeting launchers to prevent attacks on Israel.
The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 1,953 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel, and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. (Agencies)