US-Iran talks on ending war begin in Pakistan 

The United States and Iran are holding in-person talks in the Pakistani ⁠capital to end their six-week-old ⁠war.

Discussions between the two sides began in Islamabad on Saturday afternoon, Iranian media and Al Jazeera sources said, following earlier bilateral meetings each side held separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The US delegation is led by US Vice President JD Vance, and includes President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Iran’s delegation of more than 70 people is being led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Vance and Ghalibaf both met with Pakistan’s Sharif earlier on Saturday, with Sharif’s office saying Islamabad looked forward to continuing its facilitation of both sides.

The negotiations proceeded despite earlier assertions from Tehran that they would not take place without commitments on Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire and US sanctions. It was unclear whether the issues were resolved before talks began.

Earlier, Ghalibaf wrote on X that Washington had previously agreed to unblock Iranian assets and to a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters have killed nearly 2,000 people since the start of the fighting in March. He said talks would not start until those pledges were fulfilled.

Israel ⁠and the US have said the Lebanon campaign is not part of the Iran-US ceasefire, while Tehran and Pakistan say it is.

Ghalibaf said separately that Iran was ready to reach a deal if Washington offered what he described as a genuine agreement and granted Iran its rights, Iranian state media reported.

The White House did not immediately comment on the Iranian demands, but Trump posted on social media that the only reason the Iranians were alive was to negotiate a deal.

“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are ‌alive today is to negotiate!” he said.

Vance, speaking as he headed to Pakistan, said he expected a positive outcome but added: “If they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive.”

Trump announced a two-week ceasefire in the war on Tuesday, which has halted US and Israeli air strikes on Iran.

But it has not ended Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies, or calmed the parallel war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

More to come …