Islamabad talks: US, Iran begin talks aimed at ending conflict in West Asia

Ahead of the high-stakes talks in Islamabad, a US delegation led by Vice President Vance and an Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf met separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

There is currently no official news on the start of direct talks between Iran and the United States. Pakistani officials said the talks were scheduled to take place at the Serena Hotel, which has been placed under a strict security lockdown.

Iranian media reported that talks between Iran and the United States, brokered by Pakistan, had begun in Islamabad, but gave no details.

Vance was accompanied by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Ghalibaf led the Iranian delegation, which consisted of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Supreme Defense Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian and Central Bank Governor Abdulnaser Hemati.

Four days later, Iran and the United States announced a two-week ceasefire and the two sides traveled to Islamabad for talks. However, Israel launched a large-scale attack on Lebanon, killing more than 300 people, causing the truce to collapse.

While Tehran claimed the attack violated the terms of the ceasefire understanding, the United States and Israel said Lebanon was not part of the agreement.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir and Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi received the delegations of the two countries at Nur Khan Air Base.

During his meeting with the Iranian delegation, Prime Minister Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s sincere determination to continue to play the role of mediator and promote meaningful results in the peace talks.

When meeting with the US delegation, Sharif expressed the hope that talks between the United States and Iran can bring lasting peace in West Asia.

In a related development, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said peace talks could lead to an agreement if the United States acted in U.S. interests in line with President Donald Trump’s “America First” approach.

“However, there will be no agreement if we face the representatives of ‘Israel First,'” he said on social media.

Aref warned that without a peace deal, the world would face a “greater cost”.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency earlier reported that talks between Iran and the United States would not begin until “preconditions” proposed by Tehran, including a cessation of Israeli hostilities against Lebanon and the freezing of Iranian assets, were met.

Subsequently, the newspaper quoted “people familiar with the matter” as saying that the United States had agreed to release Iran’s frozen assets. However, the report has not been confirmed.

Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf shared a photo taken inside a plane during a flight to Pakistan. In the photo, he stands in front of a photo of Minab school students who were killed in the strike on their airplane seats.

“My companion on this flight – Minab 168,” Ghalibaf posted the photo on social media.

U.S. President Trump has warned that the United States will resume military operations against Iran if negotiations fail to reach a peace agreement.

Before departing for Pakistan, Vance said he was looking forward to the talks and hoped for a “positive” outcome.

“As the president of the United States has said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we are certainly willing to lend a hand. If they want to play us, they will find that the negotiating team is not that receptive,” Vance said before boarding a plane to Islamabad.

After arriving in Islamabad early Saturday, Ghalibaf spoke to reporters about trust issues with the United States, reminding them of Iran’s past experiences with the United States.

“In less than a year, during negotiations, they attacked us twice, and although there was sincerity on the part of Iran, we had goodwill, but we had no trust,” he said.

He said that if the United States is ready to reach a “real deal”, then Tehran will be ready too.

Iran has formulated a 10-point plan for the talks, including requiring the withdrawal of U.S. troops from West Asia, lifting sanctions on Iran and allowing Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz.

The fighting came to a halt earlier this week as Pakistan led diplomatic efforts to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table following an appeal by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi earlier had a phone call with the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Shibani, claiming that the United States must fulfill its ceasefire commitments, including ensuring that the ceasefire covers Lebanon.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Israel’s attack on Lebanon was a “blatant violation” of the original ceasefire agreement and would make negotiations pointless.

Islamabad is covered in a thick security blanket and is on “red alert” ahead of the talks.

Officials said more than 10,000 police and security personnel have been deployed to ensure multi-layered security for the visiting delegates.

The red zone contains important buildings and is protected by the military and rangers, and only authorized officials and residents can pass through.

Iran’s negotiations with the United States are closely watched around the world because their success or failure could have far-reaching consequences for West Asian security, global energy markets, and international diplomacy.

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