Rohit Kumar
NEW DELHI, Apr 11: The Iranian delegation held a strategic meeting to fine-tune its agenda ahead of the ceasefire negotiations signaling the seriousness with which Tehran is approaching the talks as the trilateral discussions over ceasefire involving the United States and Iran with Pakistan as mediator officially commenced in Islamabad on Saturday.
Prior to the start of the talks, US Vice President JD Vance held a high-level meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to a White House statement. The Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also met with Sharif, reflecting Pakistan’s central role as mediator in the peace process.
Even as the talks begin, the humanitarian situation across the region remained urgent. Lebanese authorities report that the death toll from recent Israeli strikes has risen to 357, with officials warning that the number may climb further as more victims were being discovered and identified.
Ahead of the Islamabad negotiations, the US President Donald Trump wrote that Iran’s remaining military threat consists solely of “sea mines” reportedly deployed in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also wrote that the US was beginning the process of clearing the strait, framing it as a global service benefiting countries including China, Japan, South Korea, France, and Germany. He also criticized these nations, claiming they lacked “the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.”
Mr Trump also took to Truth Social to address the ongoing conflict with Iran, even as his top negotiators, including Vice President JD Vance, are in Pakistan for high-level peace talks. In his post, Trump pushed back against media reports suggesting Iran was gaining the upper hand, claiming that Tehran is “LOSING, and LOSING BIG!” He added that Iran’s navy, air force, and anti-aircraft defenses were no longer operational.
According to reports, special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were present when Mr Vance held talks with the Pakistani Prime Minister. The White House and Mr Sharif’s office said, “The Prime Minister expressed the hope that these talks would serve as a stepping stone towards durable peace in the region.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday that he hoped the US and Iran would engage constructively in peace talks. Mr Dar also reiterated Islamabad’s desire to continue facilitating the parties to reach a “lasting and durable solution to the conflict,” according to a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
Reports said Iran insisted on a truce in Lebanon and unfreezing of its assets for the negotiations to go ahead. Mr Vance on Friday had warned Iran not to “play” the US Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump vowed to have the Strait of Hormuz open “with or without” Iran’s cooperation and said his top priority at the Islamabad talks was to ensure the Islamic republic cannot have a nuclear weapon.
The Trump administration has revoked the green cards of more long-term Iranian residents of the US who are related to current or former senior Iranian officials. The State Department said it had taken action against Seyed Eissa Hashemi, a Los Angeles-area psychology teacher, his wife and son, all of whom were Iranian-born lawful permanent residents of the US.
The department said in a statement released as talks to end the war with Iran were getting underway in Pakistan that they had been taken into custody by immigration authorities and are slated for deportation.
The journalists coming from all over the wold to cover the peace talks rushed to Islamabad’s flagship convention center — converted into a media hub by Pakistani authorities for landmark talks. But as negotiations began behind closed doors half a kilometer away, all the world’s media could do was wait — and sip on an expertly brewed coffee while listening to live eastern folk music.
Some journalists, accredited by the Information Ministry, were nonetheless held up for about an hour at a checkpoint outside the venue as a convoy of VIPs swept past. “I’m bored out of my mind,” one journalist said. Another offered a similar assessment: “There’s not much to do here.”
A senior Iranian source said on Saturday the US had agreed to release Iranian frozen assets that were held in Qatar and other foreign banks, welcoming the move as a sign of “seriousness” in reaching a deal with Washington in talks in Islamabad. The US has not made any public comments on the issue of unfreezing assets. The source said unfreezing the assets was “directly linked to ensuring safe passage through Strait of Hormuz,” which is expected to be a key issue in the talks.
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