Islamabad: A high-level Iranian team conferred with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday to deliberate conditions for upcoming “make or break” talks aimed at halting the Middle East war, coinciding with the arrival of a US delegation headed by Vice President JD Vance.
As preliminary discussions kicked off at Islamabad’s Serena Hotel, Iranian outlets reported the delegation would finalize its stance on engaging the Americans following the session with Sharif, AFP reported.
Iran has long maintained that a lasting peace deal requires unfreezing its sanctioned assets and ceasing Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon—a point Vance has declared off-limits for the Islamabad summit.
The delegations converged at the site shortly after the Iranian group, under parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, touched down overnight at a nearby air base. They promptly embraced Pakistan’s influential army chief, Asim Munir.
Munir, who enjoys a close relationship with US President Donald Trump, also received Vance, guiding him along a red carpet at Nur Khan air base alongside US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Deep Divisions Persist
Substantial gaps remained on core disputes — including sanctions relief, the Lebanon front, and access to the vital Strait of Hormuz — with neither side masking their wariness.
“Our experience in negotiating with the Americans has always been met with failure and broken promises,” Ghalibaf stated soon after landing, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, traveling with the group, conveyed to his German counterpart during a Saturday call that “Iran enters negotiations with complete distrust due to repeated breaches of commitments and betrayals by the United States”, Tasnim news agency reported.
Vance, prior to his US departure, remarked that if the other side was “willing to negotiate in good faith, we’re certainly willing to extend the open hand”.
‘Make Or Break’
But “if they’re going to try to play us, then they’re going to find the negotiating team is not that receptive”, he added.
The fragile ceasefire faces pressure, particularly from Israel’s ongoing Lebanon operations, which Iran and Pakistan argue fall under the truce terms.
Prime Minister Sharif, whose urgent mediation efforts seated both parties this week, cautioned that the road ahead would be arduous.
“An even more difficult stage lies ahead,” he said, alluding to pushes for a durable halt to hostilities ignited by US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, prompting Iranian counterstrikes on Israel and Gulf targets.
“This is that stage which, in English, is called the equivalent of ‘make or break.'”
Iran dispatched a delegation exceeding 70 members to Pakistan, steadfastly requiring Lebanon inclusion and asset thaw for talks to advance — demands unmet to date.
Trump, on the US side, conditioned the two-week truce on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The key waterway, handling one-fifth of global crude, stays curtailed, though Trump pledged Friday to restore it “with or without” Iran’s involvement.
He stressed that his foremost goal in Islamabad was verifying the Islamic republic had “no nuclear weapon. That’s 99 percent of it.”
Meanwhile, tight security gripped Islamabad on Saturday, featuring robust police and paramilitary deployments plus road closures around the red zone housing official and diplomatic sites.
Pakistan assembled specialists in key areas like navigation and nuclear issues to assist the talks, said a diplomatic source briefed on the matter to AFP.
Regional Eyes And Complications
The proceedings draw intense scrutiny from stakeholders like Egypt and Turkey, which aided mediation alongside China — with Pakistan maintaining close coordination, the source noted.
Officials have floated Beijing as a potential enforcer of any enduring pact; Trump affirmed to AFP China’s role in drawing Tehran to the table.
Lebanon Tensions Escalate
Israel’s claim that the truce omits Lebanon hinders ceasefire prospects.
Israeli jets struck Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon Friday, defying Tehran’s calls for cessation.
Israel’s US ambassador, Yechiel Leiter, announced his nation would engage Lebanon’s government in Washington next week but skip ceasefire talks with Hezbollah.
Hezbollah reported launching drone and rocket strikes overnight on northern Israel and Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
A 30-year-old Tehran resident expressed doubt to AFP about the talks’ viability, labeling most of Trump’s words as “pure noise and nonsense.”
