High-level delegations from the United States and Iran arrived in Islamabad on Saturday, April 11, to begin what Pakistani officials have called a “decisive stage” in negotiations to end the six-week-old conflict in the Middle East, Sky News reported.
The American team is led by Vice President JD Vance, accompanied by special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. They are set to hold indirect talks with an Iranian delegation headed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The negotiations, brokered by Pakistan with significant diplomatic backing from China, are taking place under a fragile two-week ceasefire set to expire on April 22.
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Before the first round of discussions, Tehran put forward two primary conditions: a complete ceasefire in Lebanon and the unfreezing of Iranian assets. President Masoud Pezeshkian had previously warned that continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon rendered the talks “meaningless,” though Vice President Vance suggested there may have been a “legitimate misunderstanding” regarding whether Lebanon was included in the initial truce.
President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the main priority for any lasting agreement remains the restriction of Iran’s nuclear program. While the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is a major concern for global trade, Trump expressed confidence that the waterway – where traffic remains nearly paralyzed due to Iranian threats and proposed toll fees – would be opened “fairly soon” and “automatically,” regardless of Tehran’s specific actions.
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