ISLAMABAD — The United States and Iran began historic face-to-face negotiations Saturday in Pakistan, days after a fragile, two-week ceasefire was announced, as the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken global markets entered its seventh week.
The White House confirmed the direct nature of the talks, a rare instance of high-level engagement.
Iran's state-run news agency said three-party talks including Pakistan began after Iranian preconditions, including a reduction in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, were met, and after U.S. and Iranian officials met separately with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and the Iranian one led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf were discussing how to advance the ceasefire already threatened by deep disagreements and Israel's continued attacks against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the most direct U.S. contact had been in 2013 when President Barack Obama called newly elected President Hassan Rouhani to discuss Iran’s nuclear program. The most recent highest-level meetings were between Secretary of State John Kerry and counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif during negotiations over the program.
Now talks are underway between Vance, a reluctant defender of the war who has little diplomatic experience and warned Iran not to "try and play us," and Qalibaf, a former commander with Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard who has issued some of Iran's most fiery statements since fighting began.
Iran sets ‘red lines’ including compensation for strikes
Iran doubled down on parts of its earlier proposal, with its delegation telling Iranian state television it had presented some of the plan’s ideas as “red lines” in meetings with Sharif. Those included compensation for damage caused by U.S.-Israeli strikes that launched the war on Feb. 28 and releasing Iran’s frozen assets.
The war has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, 1,953 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states, and caused lasting damage to infrastructure in half a dozen Middle Eastern countries. Iran's chokehold on the vital Strait of Hormuz has largely cut off the Persian Gulf and its oil and gas exports from the global economy, sending energy prices soaring.
Reflecting the high stakes, officials from the region said Chinese, Egyptian, Saudi and Qatari officials were in Islamabad to indirectly facilitate the talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
In Tehran, residents told The Associated Press they were skeptical yet hopeful about the talks after weeks of airstrikes left destruction across their country of some 93 million people. Some said the path to recovery would be long.
“Peace alone is not enough for our country, because we’ve been hit very hard, there have been huge costs,” 62-year-old Amir Razzai Far said.
Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with strikes in Lebanon after saying there is no ceasefire there. Iran and Pakistan have disagreed. The Lebanese state-run news agency reported at least three people killed.
Officials posture over key issues ahead of talks
Ahead of the talks, President Donald Trump accused Iran of using the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global energy supplies, for extortion, and told reporters Friday it would be opened "with or without them."
Iran’s closure of the strait has proved its biggest strategic advantage in the war. Around a fifth of the world’s traded oil had typically passed through on over 100 ships a day. Only 12 have been recorded transiting since the ceasefire.
On Saturday, Trump said on social media that the U.S. had begun “clearing out” the strait, but it was unclear whether he was referring to the reported use of mines there or Iran’s broader ability to control the area.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said Tehran was entering negotiations with "deep distrust" after strikes on Iran during previous rounds of talks. Araghchi, part of Iran's delegation in Pakistan, said Saturday that his country was prepared to retaliate if attacked again.
Iran and the United States outlined competing proposals ahead of the talks.
Iran’s 10-point proposal called for a guaranteed end to the war and sought control over the Strait of Hormuz. It included ending fighting against Iran’s “regional allies," explicitly calling for a halt to Israeli strikes on Hezbollah.
The United States’ 15-point proposal includes restricting Iran’s nuclear program and reopening the strait.
Israel and Lebanon will have direct negotiations
Negotiations between Israel and Lebanon are expected to begin Tuesday in Washington, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun's office said Friday, after Israel's surprise announcement authorizing talks despite the countries lack of official relations.
But thousands in Lebanon protested the planned negotiations, and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said he had postponed a planned trip to Washington “in light of the current internal circumstances.” It was not immediately clear what that meant for the talks.
Israel wants the Lebanese government to assume responsibility for disarming Hezbollah, much like was envisaged in a November 2024 ceasefire. But it is unclear whether Lebanon's army can confiscate weapons from the militant group, which has survived efforts to curb its strength for decades.
Israel's insistence that the ceasefire in Iran does not include a pause in its fighting with Hezbollah has threatened to sink the deal. The militant group joined the war in support of Iran in the opening days. Israel followed up with airstrikes and a ground invasion.
The day the Iran ceasefire deal was announced, Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, killing more than 300 people in the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began, according to the country's Health Ministry.
Energy pressures grow
The spot price of Brent crude, the international standard for oil prices, was above $94 on Saturday, up more than 30% since the war started.
And new pressures emerged in Europe for travelers.
The head of Airports Council International-Europe, Olivier Jankovec, warned the European Union that a ″systemic jet fuel shortage’’ could come within three weeks because of the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.
Jankovec said in a letter obtained by the AP that the crunch could impact the summer travel season and ″significantly harm the European economy.’′
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Metz reported from Jerusalem, Castillo from Beijing and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed.
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