ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Iran and the United States are meeting directly in talks underway in Pakistan, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials, marking the highest level of face-to-face engagement between leaders of the United States and Iran in decades as the two sides seek to end more than six weeks of war.
Direct talks begin in Islamabad as U.S. and Iran seek path to end war
Iran and the U.S. traded allegations of ceasefire violations ahead of Saturday’s talks with Pakistan as host and Israel not in attendance.
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Shaiq Hussain
“The U.S., Pakistan and Iran are holding a trilateral face-to-face meeting today,” a senior White House official said. A Pakistani official confirmed the White House official’s account.
The negotiations began hours after U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived to ramped-up security in Islamabad on Saturday morning. Many roads in the Pakistani capital were completely closed to civilian traffic all day Saturday, while others were lined with additional police and security forces.
But despite the heavy security, the mood in Pakistan was jubilant, with banners depicting American, Pakistani and Iranian flags lining the main thoroughfares in Islamabad. At Nur Khan air base outside the capital, Vance was escorted down a red carpet after Air Force Two touched down.
While Iran and the United States traded accusations of ceasefire violations right up until the meetings began in Islamabad on Saturday, both sides also appeared to signal a strong desire to negotiate an end to the war days after agreeing to a temporary truce.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif initially met with the U.S. and Iranian delegations separately Saturday. The talks between Iran and the United States began “following intensive consultations” regarding Israeli attacks in Lebanon, according to Iranian semiofficial news agency Tasnim. The report did not specify whether the talks were direct or indirect.
Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, said the two sides originally planed to hold “proximity talks” — meaning the delegations would be seated in different rooms — to build confidence before direct talks can occur in the next round.
“The talks have started from a point of deep mistrust and unwillingness to talk, so in that sense Pakistan has already accomplished a great deal in bringing the two sides to its capital,” said Haqqani, who is now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.
Despite Iran and the United States agreeing to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday, the two sides have clashed on some of the truce’s central terms. President Donald Trump has said Iran was supposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under the agreement. And Iran has criticized continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon, saying that front should be covered by the ceasefire 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 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.