Iran, US to hold talks in Islamabad through indirect and direct channels: sources

Pakistan remains involved in every stage of the process, with talks starting with separate meetings between U.S. and Iranian delegations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday.

Sources said information was then exchanged between the two sides through their Pakistani interlocutors.

The Iranian delegation was led by Speaker Mohammad Baqir Ghalibaf, and the U.S. delegation was led by Vice President Vance.

According to sources, the talks then shifted to direct talks between the visiting delegations, which lasted for about two-and-a-half hours in the presence of Pakistani officials.

In the next phase, a one-hour break, the parties held expert discussions on the technical aspects of the demands made by both parties. The exchange of technical information continued late into the night.

By Sunday morning, however, it was clear that the differences could not be bridged, leading US Vice President Vance to announce at a brief press conference that negotiations were over without an agreement.

Sources said Pakistan remained hopeful of further talks but so far no date or venue had been set.

The Pakistani government earlier said it would continue to play the role of mediator and expressed hope that the talks would be a step towards resolving the dispute.

The Iranian delegation arrived in Islamabad on Friday night, and the U.S. delegation arrived on Saturday morning.

The U.S. side also includes President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Vitkov, while the Iranian side is also represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and other senior leaders.

The two sides traveled to Islamabad just days after Iran and the United States announced a two-week ceasefire on April 8. This is the first direct, high-level contact between Iran and the United States since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The two sides failed to reach an agreement after face-to-face talks, raising doubts about the effectiveness of a fragile two-week ceasefire between the two countries and the prospects of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilize global energy markets.

This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.