ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON – US and Iranian officials landed in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, on Saturday morning for negotiations to end the hostilities in the Middle East.
The Iranian delegation, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, arrived here early in the day.
US delegates, led by Vice President JD Vance, arrived in Pakistan on Saturday morning for talks with Iran, according to sources. The US team also includes President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are in a separate plane landing at the Nur Khan airbase.
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar expressed hope that all parties involved in the ongoing conflict would engage constructively to advance efforts toward a peaceful resolution, according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry.
RELATED ARTICLES
- Ahead of US-Iran talks, Trump says Hormuz to open soon
- Trump threatens Iran over tanker transit fees in Strait of Hormuz
- Uncertainty over Mideast truce
- Rift over Lebanon, Hormuz strains truce
In a statement issued on Saturday, Dar reiterated Pakistan's willingness to continue facilitating the parties in achieving a lasting and durable solution, underscoring the importance of dialogue and cooperation in resolving disputes.
However, distrust between the two adversaries still shadows their peace talks scheduled for later on the day.
Speaking to reporters upon arrival at Islamabad, Ghalibaf told reporters that "twice within less than a year, in the middle of negotiations, and despite the Iranian side's good faith, they attacked us and committed numerous war crimes," recalling the country's past experience of betrayal by the US.
“We have goodwill, but we do not have trust (in Americans)," he reiterated, according to the Tasnim news agency.
If the American side is ready for a genuine agreement and to grant the rights of the Iranian nation, then they would witness Iran's readiness for an agreement. However, should Washington seek to use negotiation as a futile show and a deception operation, Tehran is prepared to secure the Iranian nation's rights by relying on its own capabilities, he said.
According to Iranian media reports, Ghalibaf, with his fellow delegates, will meet Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday morning. If the US side accepts the preconditions proposed by Iran – a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran's blocked assets, the two sides will begin negotiations at the Serena Hotel on Saturday afternoon.
Before departing Washington for Islamabad on Friday, Vance warned Iran not to "play" the US in the upcoming talks.
"As the president of the United States (Donald Trump) said, if the Iranians are willing to negotiate in good faith, we're certainly willing to extend the open hand. If they're going to try to play us, then they're going to find that the negotiating team is not that receptive," he said.
"We're going to try to have a positive negotiation. The president gave us some pretty clear guidelines, and we're going to see," said Vance.
Trump on Friday stepped up pressure ahead of US-Iran talks, claiming that Iran has "no cards" other than short-term "extortion" with the Strait of Hormuz.
“The Iranians don't seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday. "The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!"
In a televised speech late Friday, the Pakistani prime minister said that the US and Iranian sides would hold talks on Saturday to find a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict and the Pakistani leadership will make the best of its efforts to make the talks a success.
To prepare for the success of the US-Iran talks, Pakistan's capital is under tight security.
Analysts said that the negotiations are being closely watched for signs of whether they can evolve into sustained diplomacy or collapse under longstanding structural tensions, but holding talks has opened a rare diplomatic window between the two adversaries.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the upcoming US-Iran talks and calls on the parties to seize this diplomatic opportunity to engage in good faith toward a lasting and comprehensive agreement, with a view to de-escalation and the prevention of a return to hostilities.
"The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no viable alternative to the peaceful settlement of international disputes, in full accordance with international law, including the UN Charter," his spokesperson said Friday.
