A US delegation led by US vice president JD Vance is heading to Pakistan for high-level talks with Iranian representatives for the first such meeting since the war began more than a month ago, which will test whether they can shore up a fragile ceasefire and pave the way for peace.
The ceasefire brokered by Pakistan still faces hurdles in the talks beginning on Saturday, as Israel and Hezbollah militants have traded fire along the border of southern Lebanon and Iran has set conditions before negotiations can begin.
The Iranian delegation arrived early on Saturday in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, led by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who said on X that discussions will only take place if there is an Israeli ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of blocked Iranian assets.
Hours earlier, US President Donald Trump wished Mr Vance good luck.
“We’ll find out what’s going on. They’re militarily defeated,” Mr Trump said.
The normally bustling streets of Islamabad were deserted as security forces sealed roads ahead of the talks. Pakistani authorities urged residents to stay inside, making the city to look as thought it was under curfew.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that the conflict was entering a “difficult phase” as the sides try to shift from a temporary pause in fighting to a more lasting settlement, adding that they were at a “make-or-break” moment.
Before his departure from Washington on Friday, Mr Vance said he believed the negotiations with Iran would be “positive”.
But he added, “If they’re going to try and play us, then they’re going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive.”
Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon were expected to begin on Tuesday in the US capital, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s office said on Friday.
Beirut is keen to hold direct talks to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah, but under a ceasefire similar to the one with Iran.
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.
The day the truce was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with air strikes, killing more than 300 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry. It was the deadliest day in the country since the war began on February 28.
Mr Trump said on Thursday he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease the strikes.
Then on Friday, Israeli warplanes struck near a state security office in the southern town of Nabatieh, killing 13 officers, according to the Lebanese president’s office.
Israeli forces said they also hit about 10 rocket launchers in Lebanon that had fired toward northern Israel.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent oil prices skyrocketing, driven stocks down and roiled the world economy. Tehran’s control over the waterway has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war.
The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was about 97 dollars Friday, up more than 30% since the war started.
Before the conflict, more than 100 ships passed through the strait each day, many carrying oil to Asia. With the ceasefire in place, only 12 have been recorded passing through.
Mr Trump said Iran has little clout in the negotiations.
“The Iranians don’t seem to realise they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” Mr Trump posted on Friday.
“The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”
