A high-level delegation led by US Vice President JD Vance lands in Pakistan’s Islamabad on Saturday to participate in the talks with Iran, aimed at ending the six-week war. The delegation includes White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and advisor Jared Kushner. A 30-member US security team is also part of the delegation’s support.
The delegation’s arrival was described as a “make or break” moment for US-Iran relations, with discussions expected to focus on de-escalating tensions in West Asia.
The delegation also includes Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi.
According to the statement, the Iranian delegation was received upon arrival by Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, along with National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Syed Asim Munir and Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi.
Ishaq Dar expressed hope that the parties would engage constructively and reiterated Pakistan’s willingness to continue facilitating efforts toward a lasting and durable solution to the conflict, Xinhua news agency reported.
The United States and Iran are scheduled to begin negotiations on Saturday morning during the diplomatic window of a two-week conditional truce announced on Tuesday, more than one month after the start of US-Israeli joint military strikes on Iran.
The ceasefire between the United States and Iran has been strained as Israel continues striking Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf have stressed that stopping the attacks on Lebanon is an integral part of the ceasefire.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on Friday demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon and the release of Iran’s blocked assets prior to the commencement of negotiations with the United States.
He made the remarks in a post on social media platform X while elaborating on Iran’s preconditions for taking part in the talks to ease tensions in the Middle East, which are expected to take place in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the warring parties.
Also, Foreign Minister Araghchi, earlier on Friday called on the United States to fulfill its commitments under the ceasefire regarding the necessity to stop Israel’s attacks against Lebanon, the official news agency IRNA reported.
He made the remarks in a phone call with Iran’s proposed ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, on Friday afternoon, while condemning Israel’s ongoing “military aggressions and crimes” against Lebanon and underlining the full support and solidarity of the Iranian government and people for and with Lebanon’s “legitimate resistance” against Israel
