Sat 11 April 2026:
The first round of talks between the US and Iran opened in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Saturday to seek a permanent ceasefire following a two-week temporary truce between the two warring sides, official sources told Anadolu.
The two delegations are holding separate meetings with Pakistani officials at a five-star hotel in the capital to “make patch work” before direct talks between the two sides, the sources said.
“We cannot say at the moment when will the two delegations sit face-to-face. At the moment, they are holding talks with Pakistani officials,” the sources added.
The high stakes talks, dubbed the “Islamabad Talks,” began soon after separate meetings of the Iranian and the US delegations with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier in the day.
The US and Iranian delegations arrived separately in Islamabad for the talks in a significant high-level and bilateral engagement between the two sides since 1979.
US Vice President JD Vance leads the American delegation, and includes special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Parliament Speaker Bagher Qalibaf is leading the Iranian delegation, which includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and deputy to the National Security Council, Ali Bagheri Kani, among others.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is representing Islamabad in the talks, while army chief Gen. Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi are assisting him, according to insiders.
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Pakistan pushing for direct talks between the US and Iran
A diplomatic source in Islamabad has told Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent that Pakistan is making strenuous efforts at the highest level to ensure that the US and Iran hold direct negotiations – with Pakistani participation.
Here’s what we know:
- The plan is for the talks to begin with a handshake between the heads of the two delegations, or with a Pakistani official standing between them.
- According to the arrangements, the Iranian delegation members will meet first with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at his residence in Islamabad – followed by the US delegation.
- The negotiations, which are hoped to be direct, are then scheduled to begin immediately at 11:30 GMT and continue into the evening.
- The diplomatic source said that if Pakistan succeeds, it will be a significant breakthrough and further progress can be achieved.
- Otherwise, negotiations will be held indirectly and will last just today, the source said.
Islamabad talks hinge on frozen assets and Lebanon ceasefire
Things are very fluid here in Islamabad. There is a lot at stake. There are two very different sets of goals going into these talks, and somehow, they are hoping to merge them in the middle.
One of the big issues is a significant trust deficit between the two sides. It has not been helped by the US president saying that if the talks do not work out, he is rearming his ships and that this will be resolved militarily.
In such a backdrop, the two teams in Islamabad are working out the details. One of the big preconditions for Iran is the issue of the fighting in Lebanon, and for that to be halted, as Israeli strikes continue. The other big issue and potential precondition is seeing the unfreezing of Iranian assets, some billions of dollars held since 1979, and we are hearing that there may be some agreement on the part of the US to release those assets.
It is also significant to have the US vice president there. JD Vance is seen as a more neutral arbiter and someone opposed to foreign conflicts for some time. He was not involved significantly when the initial strikes on Iran occurred.
US has not agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets: White House
A US official has denied reports that Washington has agreed to unfreeze Iranian assets.
Reuters news agency reported earlier in the day that the US had agreed to release Iranian frozen assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, quoting a senior Iranian source.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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