A US delegation led by vice president JD Vance and an Iranian delegation headed by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf met in Pakistan on Saturday for talks aimed at reinforcing a fragile ceasefire and exploring a path toward a permanent end to the conflict. The meeting marks the first such engagement since the war began more than a month ago.
The ceasefire, however, continues to face significant challenges, with Israel and Hezbollah still exchanging fire along the southern Lebanon border and Iran setting conditions before formal negotiations can proceed.”We’ll find out what’s going on. They’re militarily defeated,” US president Donald Trump said hours before the meeting.
Iran’s red lines in the ongoing negotiations include control over the Strait of Hormuz, payment of war reparations, the release of Iran’s blocked assets, and a ceasefire across the region, according to an Iran state TV reporter.
The following are the key issues expected to be discussed, as Tehran maintains that formal talks can begin only after Washington commits to a ceasefire in Lebanon and the lifting of sanctions on Iran.
Iran is calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israeli strikes on Iran-backed Hezbollah militants have killed nearly 2,000 people since the fighting began in March, as cited by Reuters. Israel and the United States say the Lebanon campaign is separate from the Iran–US ceasefire, but Tehran insists it is directly linked.Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there is “no ceasefire” when it comes to Hezbollah. However, Israel’s repeated warnings urging residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate have not yet been followed by further military action
