US, Pakistan, Iran Now Holding Face-To-Face Talks: White House

2026-04-11 02:16:45

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) [Editor's Note: Follow Khaleej Times live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire now in effect.]

American and Iranian officials were holding face-to-face talks in Pakistan on Saturday, the most significant since the 1979 Islamic revolution as the foes try to end a war that plunged the Middle East into violence and rocked the world economy.

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The trilateral direct negotiations were taking place with host Pakistan in capital Islamabad, a senior White House official said, a departure from recent practice where both sides held talks via a mediator while seated in separate rooms.

The US delegation was being led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, the official said, making it the highest level of American contact since the Islamic republic was established.

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The Iranian delegation, composed of more than 70 members, was being led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, joined by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

They had earlier decided to begin talks with their US counterparts after meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Iranian media reports.

"Commending the commitment of both delegations to engage constructively, the Prime Minister expressed the hope that these talks would serve as a stepping stone toward durable peace in the region," Sharif's office said.

The talks came as Trump said the US had started "clearing out" the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has virtually blocked and through which one-fifth of the world's crude passes at peace time, as US media reported that two US warships had crossed it on Saturday.

The US leader called it "a favour" to other countries, but a senior Iranian military official quoted by state television denied the reports of US ships crossing the key waterway.

Iran has previously said that any agreement to end the war must include the unfreezing of sanctioned Iranian assets as well as an end to Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Vance has said will not be up for discussion in Islamabad.

Iranian state television's correspondent at the talks said he understood that progress had been made on these issues, giving Iran the confidence to proceed. A US official denied reports Washington had agreed to unfreeze Iran assets held in Qatar.

Despite progress, the warring parties made no attempt to hide their mutual suspicion.

"Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises," Ghalibaf said, shortly after landing in Pakistan.