ISLAMABAD — Talks between Iran and the United States are underway in Pakistan, according to Iranian media reports, hours after U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived in Islamabad seeking an end to the war in Iran.
The negotiations began Saturday “following intensive consultations … in limiting attacks” by Israel in Lebanon, according to Iranian semiofficial news agency Tasnim. The report did not specify if the talks were direct or indirect. The White House has not commented on the negotiations. If the two sides negotiate directly, the meeting will mark the highest level of direct U.S.-Iranian engagement in decades.
Additional police and military checkpoints dotted the Pakistani capital on Saturday, with few cars on the streets and many roads completely closed to civilian traffic ahead of the arrival of Vance, who landed around 10:30 a.m.
Despite the heavy security, the mood in Pakistan was jubilant, with American, Pakistani and Iranian flags lining many of the main roads in Islamabad. At Nur Khan air base outside the capital, Vance was escorted down a red carpet upon his arrival. Shortly afterward, the vice president met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Both sides traded allegations of ceasefire violations right up until talks were set to begin on Saturday. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway that he said should have been opened under the two-week ceasefire agreed Tuesday. Iran has criticized continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon, stating that the ceasefire should have extended to that front as well.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is leading the Iranian delegation, said Friday that two measures “mutually agreed upon between the parties have yet to be implemented” — a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets. “These two matters must be fulfilled before negotiations begin,” he said in an X post on Friday.
Trump also voiced his frustration on social media Friday. “The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards,” he said in a Truth Social post. “The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”
The ceasefire between Iran and the United States is at a “make or break” moment, Sharif said in a national address Friday where he described the negotiations entering a difficult phase as the two sides attempt to move from a temporary truce to a lasting agreement.
While the talks are expected to be marked by deep distrust, diplomats in the region cited the makeup of the two delegations as cause for optimism about the prospects of a deal. Both Iran and the U.S. have sent larger, more senior groups of officials to the talks in Pakistan than were sent to nuclear talks between the two sides.
Vance’s presence especially was cited by one Western diplomat based in the Persian Gulf as a sign of the Trump administration’s seriousness. The diplomat spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. The vice president is seen in the region as more supportive of a peace deal because of his past opposition to foreign military intervention, the person said.
But the diplomat cautioned that even if Saturday’s meeting is successful, the talks are likely to progress slowly as the two sides have numerous intricate issues to resolve.
Alongside Vance, the U.S. delegation includes U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, the two men who headed the U.S. side in the last round of talks with Iran earlier this year.
The Iranian delegation that arrived in Pakistan late Friday includes more than a dozen senior officials. In addition to Ghalibaf, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who took the lead on nuclear talks, is present. They are accompanied by several senior security officials and Iran’s central bank governor.
While both Iran and the U.S. appear motivated to end the war, significant gaps remain on key issues including the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s nuclear program and the payment of reparations for war-related damage.
Iran has published a 10-point plan to end the war. The plan calls for Iran to remain in control of the Strait of Hormuz and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from military bases in the Middle East, both likely problematic for the United States. But Trump has called the outline “a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Among the demands detailed is that of compensation for related destruction. Iranian officials have said they will only entertain a peace deal that includes compensation from the U.S. for damage caused by the war.
Less is known about the Trump administration’s position going into the talks. The administration says it sent a 15-point plan to Tehran last month, but it hasn’t been made public. Officials speaking on the condition of anonymity have detailed the points to The Washington Post, saying it offers extensive sanctions relief in return for the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran and strict limits to its nuclear and missile programs, among other provisions.
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