The United States and Iran are holding in-person talks in Pakistan to end their six-week-old war, days after a fragile ceasefire was agreed. Face-to-face discussions between the two sides began in Islamabad on Saturday afternoon, the White House confirmed, following earlier bilateral meetings each side held separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Iranian state media reported that three-party talks had begun after Iranian preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, were met.
Al Jazeera’s Abid Hussain, reporting from Islamabad, said the talks were initially meant to be “proximate talks”, but “our sources close to the mediation say the two teams are [now] involved in direct negotiations, with the Pakistani mediators also present” in the room. The US delegation is led by US Vice President JD Vance and includes special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Iran’s delegation of more than 70 people is being led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Vance and Ghalibaf met separately with Pakistan’s Sharif earlier on Saturday, with Sharif’s office saying Islamabad looked forward to continuing its facilitation of both sides. The negotiations proceeded despite earlier assertions from Tehran that they would not take place without commitments on Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire and US sanctions. Earlier, Ghalibaf wrote on X that Washington had previously agreed to unblock Iranian assets and to a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters have killed nearly 2,000 people since the start of the fighting in March.
Israel and the US have said the Lebanon campaign is not part of the Iran-US ceasefire, while Tehran and Pakistan say it is. Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Islamabad, cited sources as saying that “there has been some progress made on basic conditions, including on the need for a ceasefire in Lebanon”. While no Lebanon ceasefire has been agreed, he said there are reports of a possible understanding to limit strikes to southern Lebanon.
Sources are also saying that “there could be some movement on the unfreezing” of Iranian assets, said Bin Javaid. However, he also said that “it is still early hours and a lot of this needs to be confirmed,” but that Pakistan is still very hopeful about the possibility of a breakthrough. Ghalibaf said earlier that Iran was ready to reach a deal if Washington offered what he described as a genuine agreement and granted Iran its rights, Iranian state media reported.
Trump posted on social media that the only reason the Iranian officials were alive was to negotiate a deal. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!” he said. Vance, speaking as he headed to Pakistan, said he expected a positive outcome but added: “If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive.” Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in the war on Tuesday, which has halted US and Israeli air strikes on Iran.
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