US-Iran launch high-stakes talks in Pakistan

Senior American and Iranian delegations opened negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday, seeking a path to end a war in the Middle East that has shaken regional stability and the global economy. The talks are taking place under a two-week ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran that both sides have already accused each other of violating.

According to Iranian media, Tehran agreed to proceed after its delegation met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who also held talks with US Vice President JD Vance. Sharif’s office said he commended the commitment of both sides to engage constructively and expressed hope the meetings would be a stepping stone toward durable regional peace.

Pakistan has positioned itself at the center of the diplomacy by hosting and facilitating the negotiations. Vice President Vance arrived in Islamabad on Saturday morning, landing at Nur Khan air base and walking a red carpet before meeting Sharif. Pakistani officials, including Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, greeted the US delegation on arrival.

Sharif has characterized the moment as “make or break” for the United States, underscoring the difficulty of the agenda. He acknowledged that the talks would not be easy, even as reports from Islamabad described tight security measures and an upbeat public mood around the diplomatic initiative.

The US delegation is led by Vice President Vance and includes White House envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. On the Iranian side, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf heads a team that includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, senior security officials and the central bank governor.

These sessions are described as the most significant diplomatic contact between Washington and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. If talks proceed face to face as anticipated, they would mark the first direct encounter between senior officials of the two countries since the 2015 nuclear accord, which the United States left in 2018.

The two sides remain far apart on key questions. Tehran has said any agreement on a permanent end to fighting must include unfreezing sanctioned Iranian assets and an end to Israel’s war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Vance has stated that Lebanon will not be on the agenda in Islamabad, and Israel has ruled out ceasefire negotiations with Hezbollah, though it has agreed to talk to Lebanon.

Control and reopening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz is another central dispute. The United States contends Iran is not complying with the ceasefire because the strait is not fully open, with only two ships reportedly passing on Friday. US officials say Iran is struggling to locate all the mines it laid, complicating safe passage.

An Iranian official told Reuters that Washington had agreed to release frozen Iranian assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, describing this as a sign of US seriousness and linking it directly to securing safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz. A US official has denied that any such agreement has been reached.

A correspondent for Iranian state television at the talks reported that progress on asset unfreezing and Lebanon issues gave Tehran confidence to proceed to Islamabad. However, Tehran has also cast doubt on the overall process, insisting that substantive negotiations cannot begin without clear commitments on Lebanon and sanctions relief.

The ceasefire underpinning the talks is under pressure, particularly from ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Iran and Pakistan say these attacks fall under the current truce, while Israel and the United States say they never agreed to halt operations in Lebanon. Israeli forces have struck more than 200 Hezbollah-linked targets in Lebanon in the past 24 hours, according to Israeli military figures cited in US media.

In Washington, President Trump has used social media to press Iran, asserting that the United States is “clearing out” the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to other countries, without clarifying the meaning of the phrase. He has argued that Iran has “no cards” beyond short-term leverage over international waterways and must negotiate.

Both delegations have signaled conditional openness to compromise while underlining deep mistrust. Before departure, Vance said Washington would extend an “open hand” if the other side negotiates in good faith, but warned that the team would not be receptive if it feels “played.”

Ghalibaf, speaking after landing in Pakistan, said Iran’s experience with US negotiations was marked by failure and broken promises. Against this backdrop of suspicion, the Islamabad talks bring the parties into rare high-level contact, with sanctions, regional conflicts and maritime security all on the table but with no clear path yet to a comprehensive settlement.