Face-to-face negotiations between the United States and Iran have begun in Pakistan, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.
The talks in Islamabad were the first direct US-Iranian meeting in more than a decade and the highest-level discussions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf were discussing how to advance a ceasefire that is already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel’s continued attacks against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the US military said two of its destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz ahead of mine-clearing work, a first since the war began. However, Iran’s state media earlier said Iran forced a US military ship that was attempting to cross the strait to turn around.
Iran’s state-run news agency said three-party talks had begun after Iranian pre-conditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met, and after US and Iranian officials met separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“I cannot say whether they are sitting in the same room or in separate rooms but talks have started and are progressing well,” said one Pakistani official with knowledge of the peace efforts.
Iran doubled down on parts of its earlier proposal, as its delegation told Iranian state television it had presented some of the plan’s ideas as red lines in meetings with Sharif.
The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 2,020 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries.
Iran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.
Reflecting the high stakes, officials from the region said Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi and Qatari officials were in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate the talks.
Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with strikes in Lebanon on Saturday even as Iran conditioned ceasefire talks on a pause in fighting there.
The Lebanese state-run news agency reported that Israeli strikes on Saturday killed at least three people. It did not report strikes in the afternoon.
The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 1,953 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states.
It has largely cut off the Persian Gulf from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring and inflicting lasting damage on infrastructure in half a dozen countries in the region.
Islamabad was deserted on Saturday as security forces sealed roads and authorities urged residents to stay inside, leading the normally bustling Pakistani capital to look as though it was under curfew.
Mr Vance said on Friday the US was optimistic about the talks, but warned: “If they’re going to try and play us, then they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
Iran and the US outlined competing proposals ahead of the weekend talks reflecting the wide gulf between the two sides on key issues.
Iran published a 10-point proposal. It called for a guaranteed end to the war and no future attacks.
It demanded an end to economic sanctions and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz.
It also included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies”, explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.
The United States submitted a 15-point proposal that includes restricting Iran’s nuclear programme and reopening the strait.
Separate negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin on Tuesday in Washington.
Israel wants the Lebanese government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much as was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire.
But it is unclear whether Lebanon’s army can establish a monopoly on arms or confiscate weapons from the militant group, which has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.
Israel’s insistence that the ceasefire in Iran does not include a pause in its fighting with Hezbollah has threatened to sink the deal. The militant group joined the war in support of its backer, Iran, in the opening days of the war.
The day the truce was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with air strikes, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in the country since the war began on 28 February.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
